


Awaken

by AgentLin



Category: WayV (Band)
Genre: Angst, Animated GIFs, Asylum, Awaken The World AU, Awaken The World Teaser AU, Drugs, F/M, Kidnapping, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:20:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 32,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25227442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentLin/pseuds/AgentLin
Summary: A little short snip story inspired by WayV's Awaken The World.
Relationships: WayV Ensemble/Reader
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48





	1. Ten

“Ten! Ten, let me out!”

You slammed your fists against the glass door, screaming your lungs out. One second you were with Ten making sure the others were in their cells, the next you were in one too. You didn’t know how much time had passed, all you could remember was staring at Kun.

“Ten, let me out!”

He was walking down the hall, back facing you, but when you called his name he merely glanced back at you, cold and uncaring. Although he seemed upset, or disappointed, or hurt, maybe even betrayed, but you couldn’t tell if it was directed at you or about himself.

“Ten, let me out! This has to be some mistake! I’m fine! I’m not- TEN!”

He didn’t speak a word to you or anyone else as he went on his way. Tears stung your eyes as you couldn’t understand why he would do this. Your eyes fell on Kun again, as he pressed up against the glass, devilish grin on his face. He seemed very happy despite being locked up. He waved at you and you saw the blood. You jumped back, finally noticing you had blood on your hands too. 

From there you could see bits of your clothes were torn and stained with blood too, little pieces of glass falling to the ground as you moved. Before you wound up locked up you remembered you were fine, but now you were far from it. You glanced back at Kun, he was messy now too, unlike the last time you saw him. Then you noticed the others were also looking at you, curious and happy. What did you do?

“Ten!” You screamed out again. “Ten! Ten, what happened! TEN!”


	2. Kun

“Kun!”

When the alarm went off you jumped out of your desk and ran out of the office. Of course you had a lot of patients, but only one that really mattered. You ran through the halls, pushing past others who were just as panicked and wanting to get..."

“Kun!”

When the alarm went off you jumped out of your desk and ran out of the office. Of course you had a lot of patients, but only one that really mattered. You ran through the halls, pushing past others who were just as panicked and wanting to get somewhere safe. You on the other hand were practically running towards danger, towards the special ward.

It had taken you weeks to get Kun to talk to you, and you were making progress, but you also made a promise. Probably a stupid one, but you trusted it was in good faith and worth it if it meant he’d start taking therapy more serious and actually let you help him. This wasn’t the first time the alarm went off, this place had a lot of patients, and a lot of special ones too, but every time it sounded you went to the same place. To Kun.

You scanned your ID card and stepped into the room. He was contained by a concrete room, and the smaller cube in the middle of the room, three padded walls and one made of glass, that was ultimately his cell. You promised to be there for him, so whenever there was an emergency you went to him, showing him that he was more than just your patient, that you cared about him. When you arrive he’s usually sitting on the floor, waiting for something, and always a little surprised you actually show up.

“Kun?”

This time when you walked into his cell you saw the broken glass, and all the tears in the padded wall. He was sitting in his usual corner, swinging a piece of glass in hand, you had no idea how he had broken it. Although he was one of the special patients, no one really knew what that meant, and he had yet to share the truth with you, so he was just labelled as dangerous. You took a step back when he finally noticed you and stood up.

“You came. I was really hoping you would.”

“Of course, but Kun… what did you do?”

“You promised to be there for me right?”

“Yes… did you break the glass?”

“You’ve done a really good job taking care of me.”

“I’m glad to hear but… Kun what happened here?”

“You’ll keep looking after me right?”

“Yes… but we need to-”

Glass started floating in the air as Kun stepped outside the walls of his cells. You were frozen in fear, stepping back until your back was pressed against the door. The glass just fell to the floor, Kun staring at you curiously before he broke out into laughter.

“Let’s get out of here together.”


	3. WinWin

“Sicheng… it’s time for your meds.”

You walked into the dark, cold, room with a silver tray in hand. You took the job before you knew how bizarre it would be. You were just told some patients were special and required more unorthodox methods in order to treat them. You didn’t understand why tying Sicheng up with chains on a cement chair helped, but you were in no position to question those who actually take care of him.

For him your job merely required making sure he took his medication, all those pills, before his actual treatment. He’s never actually spoken to you, just watched you with a predatory gaze. The first time you approached him he jumped forward. You screamed and stumbled back, but of course he could only move a few inches. He laughed, silently, and got comfortable again, staring up at the ceiling, but took his meds with no other issue.

Another time he grabbed your hips, pulling you close. Sometimes he managed to get more wiggle room from his chains and could actually grab things, mostly you. His grip was tight, and your breathe was caught in your throat, worried what he might do. Maybe he was restrained but he was dangerous and could probably do something to you despite his state. You could hear his breathing, and he stared into your soul, silently watching you, no hint of emotion anywhere.

He eventually let you go and took his meds as usual. Afterwards he’d open his mouth wide to show you he had swallowed them. It wasn’t long after that before he got drowsy and you left. You might have tried to talk to him, but given how he scared you the first time, you never bothered to try beyond the usual greeting. He never greeted you back, just watched you. This day felt like no other, but it was in fact a special one.

“I don’t want to take my meds.”

Hearing his voice startled you half to death, you were lucky to have already put the tray down. You took a moment to compose yourself, glad you had your back to him, so he didn’t see your reaction. You calmed down and turned to face him, his usual expression on his face.

“I’m afraid you have to. It’s important for your sessions.”

“It’s not.”

“You have to take your meds, I’m sorry, Sicheng.”

“Are you really?”

“What?”

“Sorry for me?”

“I…”

“You can tell me the truth.”

Never in a million years did you expect his voice to be so beautiful and soothing. You swallowed nervously and grabbed his pills, he usually took two at a time. You walked up to him and held the pills up to him.

“Do you feel sorry for me?”

“I…”

“Tell me the truth. Please.”

“I don’t know… I don’t even know why you’re here.”

Sicheng looked down at the pills. “I don’t want to take my meds.”

“You have to.”

He took the pills, and leaned forward for a gulp of water. You were about to grab more when he suddenly grabbed your arm and yanked you down towards him. Next thing you knew his lips were pressed against yours, forcing your mouth open with his tongue, and then you felt him push the pills into your mouth. As you realized what he was doing he put pressure on your arm and then hit your stomach. It caused you to swallow the pills unwillingly.

You tried to pull away, needing to throw up but he was quick. He kicked your leg, causing you to fall to your knees. He grabbed your head, a hand over your mouth, making sure the medication settled in. You squirmed in his grasp until you started feeling woozy, and for the first time you saw him smile. He let you go but you didn’t move, too confused. He pet you gently.

“I don’t want to take the rest of my meds.”

“You… you have…”

“You take them for me.”

That just made sense in the moment, so you slowly stood and grabbed the rest of the pills. You were about to swallow them all dry when Sicheng stopped you.

“No, no, come here.” You did as you were told. “On your knees.”

You stared up at him, the red light being somewhat of a bother at first. He stared at you, rather satisfied with your attitude.

“Take the medicine, one by one.”

You looked down at the pills in your hand and grabbed one, putting it on your tongue. He made you hold it in place for a moment.

“Swallow.”

You were never one for medicine, let alone taking pills like that without water. It felt awful, or it should have, but you were too dazed to realize.

“Good. The next one.”

He watched with curiosity and enjoyment as you took the rest of the pills one by one as you kneeled in front of him. Your eyes were glassy, staring up at Sicheng.

“Get up.” You stood. “Now release me.”

His previous amusement was gone, and he stared at you with those cold eyes again. They were so dominating, so beautiful, you knew you just had to do as he said. You smiled and started undoing his restraints, not aware of what the consequences would be.


	4. Lucas

“Lucas…”

You couldn’t believe it at first, when you saw the bloody stumps on his back, and the scattered feathers on the floor. He wasn’t human, an experiment perhaps, they didn’t know, they just found him, but they knew he was dangerous. Regardless, what they had done was wrong and needed an explanation. You dared to ask those in charge what the point was of cutting off his wings if he was already contained.

The answer to them was simple, they couldn’t risk him trying to escape. It was absurd to think he could escape his glass cage, and yet they mock him by letting him look up at the sky and feel the sun, remind him of what he used to have. What hurt more was the way he looked at you when you discovered his lack of wings, as if he was ashamed for you to see him that way. You tried your best to clean his wounds, while doing so daring to ask for his name, hearing it only as a whisper. Once you were sure he wouldn’t get an infection you started picking up the feathers but he stopped you, wanting them to remain. 

You couldn’t do this, you couldn’t see him caged up like this, so you made it a point to get him out. Especially once you learned the company had no intention of letting his wings grow back. You waited for nightfall, sneaking to the lab and opening his cell. At first he shied away from you, given that you startled him awake, but you did your best to calm him.

“No, no hey, I’m here to help okay, I’m gonna get you out of here.” You tried to sooth him even though you weren’t sure he trusted you. “This should help your wings heal faster okay, it’s just gonna sting a little.”

He watched you, not resisting, thankfully. You placed the needle in his arm, emptying out the contents, and helping him to his feet. As you made for the door all the lights came on and you saw that you were surrounded by guards. Despite your small frame you stood in front of Lucas, not wanting him to get hurt.

“Don’t touch him!”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“He’s not some thing for you to poke and prod at!”

“I’ll consider this your resignation then.”

Guards entered the cell, and you pushed Lucas back. You put up a little fight but were not match for their stun batons and hard punches. You wound up on the floor, being kicked into submission when you heard a scream that wasn’t your own. Everything stopped and you could see that Lucas had just grabbed one of the guards and threw them effortlessly aside. You never knew he had such strength.

When you tried to stand you felt another hit from the stun baton and collapsed into someone’s arms. You were barely awake but you knew they were dragging you out of the cell. It didn’t go unnoticed. Lucas jumped out as he tackled another guard, clearly making his way to you. Although with another hit you lost consciousness, the last thing you saw was Lucas’s determined face.

You woke with a minor headache, your whole body feeling sore. You looked around, you were still in the lab, but it was much quieter now. You saw that you were in Lucas’s cell, lying atop his torn up bed sheets, and feathers. 

“Lucas?”

“You’re safe now.”

You looked around, seeing how the lab was torn apart from the fight. You then saw the bodies, and you didn’t need a closer look to know they were dead. Eventually your eyes found Lucas as he sat up in the rafters, looking down on you. He was so beautiful, he always was, but moreso now that he was free.

“Are you alright?”

“I will be.”

“You need to get out of here.”

“We will. In time.”

“We?”

“You should get some sleep.”

You didn’t know what he meant but before you could dwell on it some more you suddenly felt sleepy. You laid back in the soft little nest he made for you, trying to stay awake but failing. All you could do was sleepily stare at Lucas as he watched you drift off into darkness.


	5. Xiaojun

“Xiaojun…”

“Sh.”

“Xiaojun… I… I can’t…”

You collapsed to the floor, ignoring the discomfort of the metal below you. Xiaojun stopped in his tracks, and whipped around to see you on the floor. He rushed to your side, pulling you into his arms. Your breathing was labored, and you could barely keep your eyes open.

“Y/n, come on stay with me.”

“Xiaojun…”

“We can do this, just a little longer.”

“I can’t… I’m just slowing you down…”

“No, that’s not true.”

“You have to go…”

“Not without you. I will not leave you here.”

Xiaojun suddenly put his hand over your mouth, head snapping to the side. He knew these tunnels, the pipes, all too well. When he wasn’t locked up in his cell he was down here, working, making sure nothing exploded. Down here his hearing was superhuman, nothing could get past him. You heard nothing but the pipes and steam. Although you saw his face waver, holding you like that, he could probably feel how hot you were, and it wasn’t the pipes fault.

“Y/n, I am getting you out of here.”

“Stop it… you know I’m not well…”

“That’s why I’m getting you out. You need real help, not whatever they’re doing to you up there.”

“Do you really think… I could make it…”

“You will.”

“Xiaojun… you could have escaped… a billion times by now…”

“Freedom means nothing without you.”

“You’d be free by now… if not for me… isn’t that right…”

“What does it matter?”

“You’re being stupid… I’m not worth it…”

“You’ll die down here, or worse given what-”

“And I will not let us both die!”

His hand was over your mouth again. He got you to your feet and brought you along with him, cautiously looking around. Really he was carrying you at this point, but you didn’t want to be a burden to him, you couldn’t be. He let you go for a moment and glanced through the pipes, making sure you were alone. You knew what you had to do so you grabbed him and pushed him forward.

“Go.”

“We go together.”

“I don’t want you to die because of me.”

“They’ll be looking for both of us now. If you don’t come with me you’ll die.”

“If I go with you I’ll die.”

“Y/n… don’t you want to see the sun? Or the moon? Or gaze up at a sky full of stars. There’s so much out there in the real world.”

“There is… isn’t there… how selfish would I be to keep that from you…”

“Y/n, plea-”

“If you stay, you’ll get hurt… you’ll die… and I can’t have that… so please… grant me one last wish… go… go see the world and live… for me…”

“I won’t-”

You grabbed onto the wheel at your side and turned it. Hot steam burst from the pipes between the two of you. The initial blast caused him to back up, and when he reached forward he pulled back from the pain, the steam was burning hot to the touch. This couldn’t be the end, he couldn’t let you go like this.

“Y/n!”

Xiaojun jumped awake, finding himself in his usual place, laying amongst the pipes. They continued to sing around him as he composed himself. It was all just a dream, no, not a dream, it was a tragedy waiting to happen. He heard the door behind him open, glancing over to see you walk in with his lunch. You smiled at him, as usual, but you were pale, and sick, he’d known that for a while now. That dream was a warning. If he really wanted to save you, if he really wanted to escape, then he needed to act fast, he was running out of time.


	6. Hendery

“Hendery… Hendery?”

You looked up at Hendery, seeing him watch a butterfly pass by. He looked so gorgeous among the plants, and you couldn’t help but think how lucky you were to have someone like him in your life. You picked a flower and stood up, holding it up to him. His attention was finally drawn to you, eyes focusing, he slowly took the flower from you, stepping down to your level, examining it with a smile.

“I’m glad we could spend time together. This place is gorgeous.”

“It is… but your beauty is far superior.”

You blushed. “Shut up, you’re just saying that.”

“Cause I mean it.”

“Yeah right.”

“I do.” Hendery took your hands in his. “Nothing can ever compare to you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, the light of my life. You shine brighter than the sun, the moon, and the stars. You’re my everything. I don’t think I could ever live without you.”

“Is this you… confessing your feelings to me?”

“Yes… I love you, y/n. I love you more than words can possibly express. Please, say you’ll be mine, say you’ll stay by my side no matter what happens.”

“And what if I become yours?”

“You’ll never be alone, you’ll never have to be afraid. I’ll protect you, and make sure no harm ever comes your way.”

Hendery suddenly heard screaming, your screaming, and looked around frantically. All he could see were plants, and when he turned back you were gone. He started to panic, afraid of what had happened to you.

“Y/n!” He called. “Y/n!”

He began running through the green, but regardless of where he went, he always ended up back where he stared, by the small pond. Anxiety and stress began to build up as it became clear you were gone. Then your scream rang out again, and he ran in that direction without hesitation, but nothing changed. He just came back to the pond.

“Y/n!”

He needed to breathe, he needed to think. He placed his hands on the edge of the pond, eyes shut, trying to calm his breathing. When he opened his eyes he didn’t see his reflection staring back, it was you. Slowly you came closer and rose out of the water. He watched you, a mixture of disbelief and relief all in one, but he should have known better. You smiled and reached out to grab his face.

“Liar.”

You gripped him tight and pulled him into the water with you. He flailed around, panicked, trying to escape, but you were gone, and he couldn’t get to the surface. Your screams of pain rang out in his head, and he could do nothing but scream into the water until it filled his lungs. With a soft breath he opened his eyes, back in the black room, the TV monitors around him on and quietly buzzing. He sat frozen in the chair, alone, waking up from another bad dream.

He couldn’t remember how he got there, or how long he had been there. He wasn’t actually sure the place was even real, but he knew that you had been taken, and were suffering somewhere because of him. They wanted to break him, not with their own hands, but yours. Every time he went back into that dream it ended the same way, no matter what he did, but it was the only way he could see you again, and tell you all the things he had been too afraid to say before. Yet for the moment, while he was back in what he thought might be reality, he stayed still, paralyzed by the fear and pain, and the guilt. He had to find you, to save you, but for now, he just wanted to hold you again, even if it wasn’t real.


	7. YangYang

“YangYang…”

You opened your eyes, feeling tired, like you were waking from a long nap. The sounds of some sort of scratching got your attention, and you saw YangYang a few feet away from you, drawing on the walls. He turned to you, a curious look on his face, and then came to your side. 

“You’re awake!”

He seemed very excited, jumping around a bit, as if this was the best thing ever. You had been laying on a blanket, and as you sat up you took in your surroundings. They were unfamiliar, walls of concrete, covered in art and writing of all colors. YangYang was still bouncing around in glee, and you weren’t quite sure why.

“Where… where is this?”

“Sh.” 

YangYang ran to your side, getting on his hands and knees, finger on his mouth. He still seemed very happy, and then pressed his finger against your lips.

“Sh, this is my little secret.”

“What? But… but how did I… ugh… what happened…”

You tried to think, to remember, but it hurt, and even if you were awake things still felt fuzzy. At least you could remember who you were, pieces anyway, and what your circumstances were. You were a patient in an asylum, trying to overcome something, that’s how you knew YangYang. You didn’t know what his situation was, but he loved to draw, it’s all he ever did, and you had never heard him speak until now.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe, and far, far away from-”

“This isn’t the asylum!”

“No.” He laughed. “Why would we stay there? It’s no fun.”

“Then… wait have you escaped before?”

“Like every other night. I come here, it’s my favorite place. You love it too right?”

“I…”

YangYang jumped to his feet and grabbed some chalk crayons, drawing on the walls again. He seemed excited and happy and was doodling the feelings that his body didn’t seem able to contain. You didn’t know how to feel outside the asylum, you were scared, that was certain. You had no idea where you were or how to get out, or go back, or why YangYang brought you here.

Then it hit you, the lock down. Something had happened and one of the doctors was getting you back to your room, except you never made it. Someone came at the doctor and you got scared, running away, but then you were being chased. You hid somewhere, thinking you were safe, when there was suddenly a cloud of colors in front of you, and YangYang’s smiling face was the last thing you saw before fading to black.

“You… you did this…”

“Yeah, I got you out.”

“Why…”

“You said you liked my art, and that you wanted to see more of it.”

“I… I did?”

When you got to the asylum YangYang was the first person you approached. You sat next to him as he drew on the floor, quietly watching him, and then telling him he was good, wondering if he had more. He hadn’t noticed your presence, so when you spoke he was startled, then you were pulled away by the doctor, being told he was unstable and it was best to avoid him. 

He never made a move towards you, or spoke, but he had been watching from afar, fondly. No one had ever complimented his art, and even though you didn’t interact with him, and he knew it was cause of what the doctors said, he would always catch you admiring his work around the asylum. He knew he wanted you close, to have someone to appreciate his work, to appreciate him, and he had the perfect place to put you. 

It took him a few weeks of planning, messing around with his supplies so he could bring you to his favorite place in secret. When it was time he managed to get the other patients to start a scene and used the chaos to run off and find you. Of course there were complications. You weren’t like him, doctors actually pretended to care about you, which meant he had to get you away from them even more, they’d only ruin you, and he couldn’t have that. He might have gone a little too far hitting the doctor with you, but he snapped out of it quickly enough to chase after you. He knew you’d be scared, but he was going to make it all better. 

“YangYang…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. You’ll be so happy.”

“I-”

YangYang suddenly blew some more powder in your face, and for a moment you thought you’d pass out again, but you didn’t. Instead the room had suddenly gotten dark, and you could see all the glowing art, the symbols, and your name written inside hearts on the walls. When you looked at him he wasn’t so giddy anymore, but nervous like a little kid, subtly rocking to the sides, hiding his eyes from you. Things were fuzzy again, but different, you didn’t feel so scared anymore, and the blanks in your memory weren’t so concerning. You felt a strange sense of happiness and you liked it, you wanted to stay like that, and all you could do was look up at YangYang with glassy eyes and smile, feeling you could trust him, and that you would.

“Just let me take care of you okay. I promise everything will be perfect.”


	8. The Beginning

“Why do you need me?”

When the boys asked to see you a million things ran through your head, but you weren’t prepared for what actually happened. The room you came into was bright, the walls actually screens and you noticed the camera in the room. The boys were seated at a table, a glass of water and two pills in front of them, and there was an empty seat. Your seat.

“To put it simply…” Ten began. “We need another person, another mind, to help stabilize the dream. We all know you, so your mind won’t be an intrusion, more like an anchor.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Not at all. We all have good relationships with each other, if we did this recreationally we could have a lot of fun.”

“But that’s not what we’re doing.” Kun reminded. “This is serious and we need your help so things don’t go wrong.”

“Of course, I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks. You should have a seat.”

You walked over and took a seat at the other end of the table. They were all calm and relaxed so it put you at ease. They had told you before about their dream walking, and that they used it to help others, but you had never been asked to participate before, so this must be very important. You didn’t know what would happen but you trusted them to look after you.

“So how does this work?”

“We take the pills.” Xiaojun said. “One to take us into dreamland and another to connect us.”

“Will it hurt?”

“No.” Sicheng assured. “We just fall asleep.”

“Okay, let’s do this.”

Everyone grabbed the pills and glass of water. You all glanced at one another, confirming you were ready, and then you took the drugs. As soon as you put your glass down your vision got blurry. You felt incredibly sleepy and slowly rested your head on the table. You didn’t fight it, knowing this was safe, they had done it many times before. You closed your eyes, a bit excited for what came next, and you had no idea what to expect.

The guys woke, one by one, finding themselves in this familiar room. Fluorescent lights, filthy cement walls, metal bars, basically seemed like a slight step up from a sewer. They had long ago labelled this place as the Frame.

“Alright.” Kun took charge. “We all know-”

“Where’s y/n!” YangYang suddenly said. “Shouldn’t she be here? Did she get lost!”

“She’s connected to us.” Hendery stated. “She should have just followed us here, right?”

“Kun!”

“I… I don’t know… she should be here… I can’t even sense her…”

“You…” Lucas mumbled. “You’re not in control.”

“What?”

“If you were in control you’d know where she is, you could, you would have brought her here. If you’re not in control then who is?”

Before they could speculate anymore they heard a scream, your scream. They all felt panic build up, something was very wrong. There was another scream and it echoed in the room. They all looked around, trying to find the source, and then all their eyes found a single door that had suddenly appeared in the room. No one really questioned it and they all bolted to it, scrambling to get it open and running through.

“Y/n!”

None of them really paid attention to how everything changed when they ran through the door. It still kinda looked like a sewer, but there were red lights, and they were running down a hall, vaguely concerned over what appeared to be prison cells on either side of them. That wasn’t their main priority, so they just ran down the halls, following the sound of your voice, desperate to find you.

When they turned a corner they all suddenly stopped. At the other end of the hall they could see you passed out in a cell, someone standing in front of it. They didn’t know who it was, or how someone else could possibly be in the Frame, but when the stranger looked back at them they had a better idea. A doppelganger of Ten stood in front of your cell, pocketing a red card. It was confusing, considering there were clearly two Ten’s in the room, and that’s something they had never dealt with before. 

“Who are you?” Ten asked. “What are you?”

“I’m you.” Tën scoffed. “Can’t recognize your own good looks?”

“What have you done with y/n?”

“I think the question is what have _you_ done to her.”

“What?”

“I told you, I am you. Although I’d say I’m the better parts of you.”

“Ten…” Sicheng growled. “What the fuck did you do?”

“It’s not me!”

“It is you!”

“Sh.” Tën hushed. “Someone’s sleeping.”

“What did you do!” Lucas yelled. 

“What you’ve all wanted to do, deep, deep down.” Tën laughed. “A few modifications of course, to suit your desires and her psyche.”

“Fuck this!”

Lucas charged down the hall, the others following instinctively but the vents suddenly spewed out some fog that quickly clouded their vision. It didn’t last long and then one by one they found themselves in front of your cell, alone. Even though their brothers were missing, they cared more to check on you, and seeing the tears in your clothes, and bits of blood didn’t make them feel any better.

Another scream caught their attention and they looked down another hall, seeing a door, and they just knew that’s where your cry of agony came from. They didn’t hesitate to run towards it and go through it, each making the same decision, except one. Ten remained in front of your cell as the fog cleared, not having heard another scream from you. Once the fog was gone he heard a laugh and turned around to see he was completely alone, except for his doppelganger down the hall, walking away with a skip and twirl in their step.

“You want her back so bad? Go get her yourselves.”


	9. YāngYāng

Cuddling with YangYang was the best thing. You felt nice and safe in his arms, and you loved being with him. His little secret was your secret now too, your home. You always stayed there even when YangYang went out for supplies. You didn’t mind being alone since you knew he’d always come back, and it also gave you time to draw and then show him your art and how you’ve improved.

He always made sure you were happy, one way or another, and you trusted him. You didn’t really remember what was going on in your life before YangYang but it didn’t matter. You probably weren’t as happy back then, which made staying all the more important. You felt like cotton candy with him, giggling and full of sugar, light and as fluffy as a cloud without a care in the world. YangYang loved you, he would take care of you and you loved him, so everything was perfect.

“What the hell?”

When YangYang went through the door, leaving the underground sewer prison behind, he came into a strange room, walls decorated in color. The door shut behind him on its own, and he was about to open it when he heard a noise. He froze in place, realizing he wasn’t alone, wherever he was. He looked around, trying to find the source of the noise and hoping it wouldn’t be something bad, everything that had already happened was confusing and worrying enough.

As he tried to make sense of all the child scribbles his eyes eventually found signs of life. In a corner there seemed to be someone wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping, well he hoped they were sleeping. He slowly approached them, trying not to make noise by hitting any of the things scattered around the floor. Once he was close enough he knelt down, gently pulling the blanket back, and then relief washed over him.

“Y/n.”

“Hm…”

He began to gently shake you awake. You rolled over, opening your eyes slowly, but once you saw YangYang you jumped up, a big smile on your face.

“You’re back!”

“I… wait what?”

“I wanted to show you something.”

You got to your feet and grabbed YangYang’s hand, leading him over to your recent drawing. It was a drawing of a person. At first YangYang didn’t recognize it until he looked down at his clothes, grabbing his hair as well, finally realizing how different he looked. Even though he was just noticing now, he knew that he had looked like this when he was running around that prison place.

“You don’t like it? I… I did my best… I know I’m still learning but…” You sniffled. “I just… wanted to draw you… to show you… you that…”

“No, no, no, no, don’t cry.” YangYang had to focus, what happened to him wasn’t important. “I… I love it, your skills are amazing!”

“You… you mean that…”

“Yes, of course, I absolutely love it.”

He pulled you into his arms, kissing your head. Maybe he should still be worried. This wasn’t like you, not one bit. At least he had you now, and he could keep you close.

“Let’s go.”

“What?” You pulled away from him. “What do you mean? It’s dangerous out there.”

“That’s why you have me, to keep you safe.”

“Oh… okay… are you sure?”

“Yes, come on.”

YangYang turned around and grabbed your hand. As he walked to the door with you in tow he was glad to have found you. When the door opened on its own he stopped, watching his own doppelganger walk in. The smile on their face faded when they saw what was going on, quickly replaced with a sharp glare. You on the other hand looked between the two, unsure of what was going on.

“How did you get here?”

“I’m leaving.” YangYang stated. “So don’t concern yourself.”

“What’s going on?” You asked. “YangYang why are there-”

“Y/n.” YāngYāng hissed. “Step away from him.”

“What… what’s happening…”

“He’s an imposter.”

“No, you are. Y/n is coming with me.”

“I… I don’t know who…”

“Let her go this instance!”

“Make me!”

YāngYāng took a step forward, but his gaze were drawn to you. Your eyes darted between the two, not sure who was your YangYang, and you were trying to subtly pull your hand away from the one holding it. He needed to do something to help you first.

“Y/n… ask him why he went out.”

“What…”

“He woke you up right? Remember I said I was going out for a bit, ask him why he left.”

“Stop talking to her!” YangYang yelled, pulling you back. “She’s not some child.”

“Where… where did you go?”

“What?”

“You went out to do something… what was it?”

“Y/n that doesn’t matter, we need to-”

“I went to throw out the trash and get money.”

That was your YangYang, and you were relieved to know. It made sense when you thought about it, considering the one who was holding your hand wanted you to leave. That was something your YangYang has been against from the beginning, even if you went out with him. You tried to pull your hand away from the liar but their grip only got tighter, making you whimper.

“Let me go!”

YāngYāng could see how you were becoming afraid, he knew you might get hurt, and he couldn’t have that. He charged at his counterpart, freeing you from their grasp and tackling them to the ground. You stepped away while they tussled, falling to the floor and rolling around, trying to pin one another down to throw a punch or two.

For a moment you had known who was your YangYang but you quickly lost track. All you did was slowly move away from the fight, curling up on the floor. You wanted it all to end, you wanted to go back to normal, when you were happy and calm. You couldn’t watch them fight, but you heard it, and you didn’t like it one bit. You were too lost in your own head to notice when it had ended, one finally defeating the other.

YangYang never held back, neither did his doppelganger. They both had a goal in mind, and halfway through he realized something awful. Just like Ten’s double, this was him, some part of him, and it wanted to keep y/n locked away, keep her all to himself. It horrified him but also gave him strength, this was his own darkness and he couldn’t let it win. He managed to pink down his evil twin, slamming their head down on the concrete, and one good punch to the face knocked them out. He was panting, taking a moment, relieve it was over but he couldn’t stay. 

“Y/n…”

He went over to you, grabbing your face and wiping away the tears, making sure you were alright. You were shaking and confused, not sure who this was.

“We need to go.”

“No! No, don’t touch me!”

You pushed him back and scrambled over to the other one. They were both bruised and bloody, but seeing your YangYang like that made you cry harder. You grabbed his shirt, shaking him.

“YangYang wake up! Get up! Please! Please, wake up!”

“Y/n, we need to go.”

As much as it would hurt, he had no choice. YangYang pulled you off his doppelganger, dragging you away and towards the exit. You screamed and thrashed in his arms, but you couldn’t escape. He got the door open and pulled you through, although everything changed again.

You were no longer in his arms, having magically disappeared into thin air. He was back in the prison, back in the same hallway as before. You were at the other end, still locked up. He didn’t understand what had just happened. He frantically looked around for a door, to go back to where he had found you but there was none. Only the cell doors.

“Give her back!”

YangYang jumped when he heard a shout and noticed that the cell close to him wasn’t empty like before. He saw YāngYāng in the cell, banging his fists against the glass wall, glaring at him.

“Give her back! Give her back! She’s mine!” YāngYāng continued to yell. “I got her away from the doctors! She’s mine!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Give her back!”

At least he could rest assured that YāngYāng wasn’t going to break out of his cell. The walls were concrete, steel doors, and the glass was pretty thick. YangYang had his own darkness locked up, although he had no idea what it had been up to, especially concerning you. His doppelganger kept screaming and banging for a while, like a child throwing a tantrum, until he finally conceded. YāngYāng sat on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, mumbling in a somber and anxious voice.

“She’s mine.”


	10. Hëndëry

No one was ever there when Hendery opened his eyes, just the same black room full of cameras and screens. So it wasn’t surprising he’d always just go back into the fantasy, where you were. Although things kept changing, it wasn’t peaceful anymore, it wasn’t a happy fantasy, it was turning into a nightmare.

“Hendery it hurts.”

“Where? What are they doing to you?”

“I don’t know.” You had tears in your eyes. “I’m scared.”

“You’re gonna be okay, I’m gonna get you out of here.”

“No! No I can’t leave… they’ll hurt you…”

“Don’t worry about me, I can handle anything.”

“But-”

“I’ll protect you.”

Hendery pulled you into his arms, helping you relax and letting you get the tears out. At least he knew this was more real, that even if he didn’t know where you were, here he could meet you. Of course he had figured out long ago that even here he was being watched. His heart sank when you suddenly disappeared from his arms, your warmth practically leaving him instantaneously. This cycle needed to end.

Hendery ran through that door to get to you, but he could never have imagined what was on the other side. It was like he had walked into water, suddenly completely engulfed, with no way out. He only had so much oxygen and the longer he was under the more the panic grew. He began to thrash around, thinking he was going to die, but suddenly he began to feel the ground beneath him, as if it was lifting him up. Before he knew it he broke the surface and shot straight up to his feet, throwing water in all directions.

He took in a deep breath, wiping the water from his face. Once his vision was more focused he could make out his surroundings. He was standing in some little pond, the water no longer as deep as before. All around there were plants and trees, it seemed endless, and yet there was this blanket of darkness. He stepped out of the pond, looking around but it all seemed the same. You were here, somewhere, he could feel that.

“Y/n!”

There was no response, so he picked a direction and walked. It seemed like he was going somewhere but then he wound up back by the pond. He tried a few more times, but no matter where he went he always ended up back where he started. It was frustrating, but he had to remember this wasn’t real, he was in the Frame. Maybe he wasn’t in control of the dream world, but he was certainly in control of himself and that around him.

Hendery closed his eyes and took a deep breath. You were here, somehow, so he had to focus on finding you. He wanted to bring himself to you, and when he opened his eyes everything changed, but not the way he wanted. He found himself in a dark room, cameras everywhere, and screens showing the feed, but of course, he was not alone. He sat across from himself, a duplicate, who still had their eyes closed. They were alive, and breathing, but he didn’t know where their mind was.

For now he ignored them and got up, looking around but there seemed to be no one else, and no way out. He heard a soft breath and turned back to see his doppelganger open their eyes. They seemed dejected, eyes hazy, that is until they realized they were not alone in the room. Once they recognized who the other was they stared curiously. They seemed confused at first, but their demeanor quickly changed to anger.

“Are you supposed to be me?”

“I think you’re me.” Hendery said. “Some part of me…”

“Where’s y/n?”

“How should I know? I’m looking for her. Shouldn’t you know where she is?”

“What do you want with her?”

“To get her out of here. She’s not safe.”

“That’s my job.”

“What?”

“I’m the one who’s protecting her! You’re just some fraud trying to take her from me!”

“What?! No, I-”

“Stay away from her!”

Hëndëry bolted out of his seat and tackled the other. They crashed into some of the cameras, knocking them over, probably breaking them too.

“I’m trying to help!” Hendery yelled. “She’s not supposed to be here!”

“You won’t get anywhere near her!”

“Stop it!”

Since Hendery had been so caught off guard he wasn’t in a good position to fight back. His doppelganger had him pinned, and was now strangling him. He tried to get them off, but couldn’t. The edges of his vision began to turn black, he was losing oxygen, again. In the midst of his panic he reminded himself none of this was real, and he was still in control. He slowly stopped fighting and passed out.

Hëndëry kept squeezing until the fake beneath him stopped moving. He checked for a pulse, there was none. He was relieved, standing up and wiping the sweat from his brow. He looked around, it seemed the commotion hadn’t gotten anyone’s attention so he just sat back down. He closed his eyes, his breathing returning to normal, and going back to find you, to make sure you were alright.

After a few minutes of silence Hendery opened his eyes, cautiously looking around. He saw Hëndëry at the table, eyes closed and not present, just like before. He slowly sat up, not wanting to make much noise. It seemed his plan to make his heart stop beating worked, but now he was back to square one. Nothing in his surroundings had changed, but his twin knew something he didn’t. Wherever he was, Hendery would have to follow.

He laid back down, just a precaution and closed his eyes, focusing on his doppelganger, and following them to wherever. When he opened his eyes again he saw plants, he was back in that place, the endless garden. He sat up, looking around. The little pond wasn’t in sight but he was sure he’d find it if he got up and walked. As he did so he heard voices, but more importantly he recognized yours. Without wasting another moment he ran, and soon enough, as he thought, he came to the pond, and there you were, with Hëndëry.

“Hendery?”

“How are you alive!” Hëndëry stepped in front of you. “Stay away from her.”

“What’s going on?”

“Y/n, I’m here to get you out.” Hendery said. “This guy… he’s not me.”

“What?”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s the fraud. I’m Hendery, and I’ll keep you safe.”

“I don’t understand…”

“You have to believe me.” Hendery pleaded. “None of this is real, we need to go.”

“Shut up!”

Hëndëry was determined to kill him, properly this time, but Hendery was ready, so he could fight back. There wasn’t anything to use as a weapon, so it was just them. Now they were evenly matched, but Hendery wasn’t entirely focused. Whether he won or not, it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t actually know how to escape this place. His twin landed a few blows, as did he, but both remained on their feet. Eventually Hendery wound up pinned by the pond, and then he realized something. He came here through the pond, so that had to be his way out.

With a goal in mind he could focus better, and got himself back up. He managed to knock the wind from his opponent and kick them to the ground. He didn’t need to win the fight, he just needed to get out with you. While his alter was down, trying to regain their breath, he rushed over to you, relieved to have finally found you. His hug made you go stiff, especially since you had no idea which Hendery he was.

“Are you alright?”

“I… I’m fine…”

“Good, we need to go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t stay here.”

“What?”

“Just trust me.”

Before you could respond Hendery dragged you over to the pond. He jumped into it, the water up to his knees, holding his hand out to you.

“Come on.”

“What are you doing?”

“This is the way out.”

“Huh?”

“We need to go under.”

“Um…”

“Trust me.”

“Y/n!”

Hëndëry stumbled onto his feet, glaring at the enemy. You didn’t know who to believe, who to trust, but Hendery made the decision for you. He suddenly grabbed you, pulling you into the pond. The water was up to your chest as you sat in the water, and you began to piece together what would happen next, you didn’t like it.

“Let me go!”

“I’m sorry.”

You thrashed around, trying to get away but he held you tight. You reached a hand out to the other Hendery, desperately wanting them to help you, but they couldn’t. Hendery got down low, counting down to give you a quick warning and then pulled your head under the water with him. He felt a bit guilty but he had to trust this would work. When he went under he had closed his eyes and when he opened them he found he was no longer underwater. He was sitting in the prison, completely dry, and you were nowhere in sight. He was quick to get on his feet, but he was alone, or so he thought. 

“Where is she!”

Hëndëry ran up to the glass panel of his cell, glaring at his twin on the outside. Everything was different, and more importantly there was nowhere else to go. Hendery stepped away from the cell, finally recognizing he was where it had all started, and down the hall he could see you in a cell, just like before. He was relieved, but you were still unconscious.

“What did you do!”

“She’s fine.”

“I don’t believe you! She’s my responsibility!” Hëndëry yelled. “Where is she!”

There was no point arguing, Hendery already had so many questions and his doppelganger wasn’t going to cooperate. Besides, Hëndëry was him in some way, and he didn’t want to think about that anymore than he already has. After a while Hëndëry gave up on demanding answers, beginning to accept his failure. He stumbled back until he hit the wall and slid down to the floor. He felt awful, defeated, but most of all he was scared for you, now that he wouldn’t be there.

“I’m supposed to protect her.”


	11. Xiaøjun

Xiaojun couldn’t hide his concern, the nightmare he had just had, it had shaken him to the core. He was worried about you and of course, you were worried about him. Your initial smile faded when you noticed how Xiaojun was watching you, as if you would break like glass at any moment. You reached over to caress his cheek and he grabbed your hand, it seemed being able to confirm that you were physically there made him feel a bit better.

“What’s wrong?” You asked. “Did I scare you?”

“No… how are you feeling?”

“The same, I’ll try something new tomorrow.”

“No, not tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“We need to escape.”

“I-”

“Today.”

“Xiaojun… this place is a maze… and in my condition… neither of us know a way out.”

“I can find one, I know it. This place, it’s a part of me, it can guide me.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“Y/n you’re so pale… you’ve been sick for a while.”

“So…”

“We both know you won’t last much longer if we stay in this place, we need to go.”

“And if I don’t make it?”

“Then… then at least I know I tried to save you. I can’t just watch you fall apart like this anymore.”

“Xiaojun…”

“Please, just come with me, let me save you.”

“Are you sure… are you sure you can find a way out?”

“We’ll find it together.”

To Xiaojun, it seemed like he just went deeper. He was surrounded by pipes on either side, a glowing red light coming from somewhere, and the door he had come through now gone. He glanced down the small passage ways before him, unsure of what to do next. Although he couldn’t just stand there, so he picked a direction and walked. If you were here somewhere surely he’d find you, eventually.

Besides having no idea where he was going, the heat was also a problem. He had gotten pretty close to being burned by the occasional steam that shot out of the pipes. He was probably gonna die of dehydration at this rate. Everything looked the same so he couldn’t help but feel like he was going in circles. Walking wasn’t going to help much so he needed to try something new, he didn’t have all the time in the world to find you.

“Y/n!”

It might have been ridiculous to shout your name, there were already so many noises, but he had to try. He continued walking around cautiously, calling out for you. He thought he was getting nowhere until he heard running. The footsteps echoed around him but he followed his instincts, trusting he’d find you.

“Y/n!”

When Xiaojun told you to escape with him, to run away, you couldn’t say no, he was all you had. He held your hand tightly and led you through the pipes, keeping you close. Even though he spent every day there he didn’t know the entire lay out. He could always find his way back to where he started but that’s not where he needed to go. He needed to find a real exit.

You stopped when you heard your name echo among the pipes. It sounded just like Xiaojun, but far away which made no sense since you were next to him. You were confused, but the voice frightened Xiaojun. He squeezed your hand tightly and started pulling you along. He was running, and you were stumbling behind him. You were trying to keep up, but you weren’t in a great condition to begin with. Your name echoed again, and again, the voice was trying to find you, and Xiaojun was trying to prevent that.

“Xiaojun… Xiao-”

You collapsed to the floor, your hand slipping from his grasp. You were having trouble breathing, and the heat had really gotten to you. You were barely conscious, your body aching, you also felt guilty for not being able to keep up. Xiaojun pulled you into his arms.

“No, no, no, come on y/n, we can do this.”

“Xiao…”

“Just breathe, just breathe okay, we can take a quick break.”

You snuggled against Xiaojun, knowing a little rest wouldn’t do you much good. Since you weren’t really focused on anything you didn’t notice the other Xiaojun appear down the hall, out of breath but relieved to see you.

“Y/n!”

“Stay back!”

Xiaøjun held you closer, staring at his doppelganger. He didn’t care to know what was going on, he just wanted to keep you safe.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“You would know! You monsters are the reason she’s dying!”

“What?! What the hell are you-”

“Xiaojun…” You reached up to grab his face, only hearing blurbs of shouting. “You have to go…”

“No, no I’m not leaving you.”

“I can’t… everything…”

You suddenly had some strength to move and rolled away from Xiaojun so you could throw up. It made your throat burn, and left an awful taste on your tongue. You looked over and saw another Xiaojun on their feet. You stared curiously, then looked back, there were two of them, somehow.

“What’s going on? How… how are there…”

“I don’t know but we need to go.” Xiaøjun grabbed you, getting you to your feet. “Come on.”

“But-”

“It’s some trick.”

You were starting to be dragged along but the other Xiaojun grabbed your arm. Now you were between the both of them, each holding one of your hands, but that didn’t make you feel any better.

“I’m the real Xiaojun. I came here to save you, y/n. You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Save me?”

“He’s lying!” Xiaøjun spat. “I’m saving you, we’re getting out of here together.”

“Y/n, you have to know something is wrong here.”

“I-”

“Stop talking to her!”

Xiaøjun yanked you towards him, using enough force to get you out of the others grasp and into his arms. You started feeling dizzy, your legs shaking. The two were certainly having a battle of their own, but you wouldn’t last.

“Let her go.”

“Fuck you.”

“She can’t stay here.”

“I already know that!”

A sudden burst of steam exploded between them, catching them both off guard. Xiaøjun used the incident as a means to run. Once the initial shock passed he was running, with you in tow, but it just made you feel worse. In his desire to just get away he wasn’t as cautious as before, so he couldn’t prevent you from getting hit by a gust of steam. You screamed and curled up on the floor, convulsing from the pain.

“Y/n!”

Xiaøjun couldn’t touch you without making the pain worse, guilt already swallowing him up. He was distracted with you so he didn’t notice his doppelganger sneak up on him and pull him away. Xiaojun slammed his copy onto the floor, pinning them under his weight, he was tired of games.

“What’s wrong with her!”

“She’s dying!”

“Yeah I can see that! How do I get out of here! Where’s the exit?!”

“That’s what I’ve been looking for!”

“Goddamn it, you’re useless.”

Xiaojun punched his clone a few times, hoping they’d stay down. He rushed over to you, seeing that you had passed out. He checked for a pulse, it was there, but very faint. There was no way out as far as he could see, just an endless amount of pipes. The door he came through, it disappeared without a trace, this was still the Frame, perhaps he could just create his exit. As he was about to grab you, an arm snaked around his throat and started choking him.

“Don’t you fucken touch her!”

“She… she’s gonna die… if I don’t…”

“She’s not your concern!”

“Xiaojun…”

You were feeling cold despite your environment, tears stinging your eyes. You didn’t want to be alone. Both boys heard your cry, but Xiaøjun wasn’t going to loosen his grip. Xiaojun on the other hand knew that there wasn’t much time. He placed a hand on a nearby pipe and willed it to throw out steam onto his doppelganger. It did, and Xiaøjun collapsed back, screaming. Xiaojun scrambled over to you, catching his breath, grabbing your face.

“I’m right here.”

Something caught his eye and when he looked up he could see a door a few feet in front of him. That was the way out, he could feel it. He picked you up in his arms, rushing over to the door. You were a bit awake, feeling mostly numb and cold. Despite knowing you were in Xiaojun’s arms, you could see the other trying to get on their feet. Bits of their skin was burned, a few tears in their eyes too. They seemed broken and lost, trying to chase after you, desperation all over their face. It was the last thing you saw.

Xiaojun carried you through the door only to end up back in the prison, you no longer in his arms. He spun around in a panic, but just like before, no door. After a moment he noticed a body in a cell down the hall. As he walked towards it he could see it was you, knowing exactly where he was, but before he could reach your cell he stopped. One of the previously empty cells at his sides was now occupied, his twin pressed against the glass, completely fine.

“What have you done!”

“She’s fine! No thanks to you.”

“You’re lying! What did you do to her! Where is she!”

“She’s not your concern.”

“Yes she is!” 

Xiaøjun smashed his fists against the glass, trying to escape, but deep down he knew he was trapped. He hung his head in shame, feeling like a failure. He was back in the same situation, but this time he didn’t have you close by. If anything this just meant he had to start again, you weren’t safe until you were with him.

“I have to save her.”


	12. Lůcas

You expected to leave, now that Lucas was safe, or at least you expected him to go, but he didn’t. No one else ever came back to the lab, perhaps the project was far more secretive than you knew, or it had been abandoned. Either way, Lucas stayed, and so did you. He kinda made it like a home. There were plenty of places to perch himself up on, wide open space for him to fly around in, as well as an open ceiling he could go through to leave and come back as he pleased.

You stayed on the ground though, with an occasional lift up to a higher place with him. He was very capable of taking care of himself, and he absolutely adored taking care of you. He provided everything you could need, so there was no reason for you to leave the nest. You had no desire to return to your old life, much happier with Lucas. He was gorgeous, and so marvelous, you couldn’t leave him behind. You needed him as much as he needed you.

Lucas was quickly blinded by sunlight when he walked through the door. Once his eyes adjusted he realized he was boxed in somewhere. There was a door, it had a sign over it that said stairs, so he knew it was different to the one he came through. Although as he walked towards it he finally realized the floor beneath him was glass. He looked down, making out a person laying amongst some sheets. As he knelt down to look closer he realized it was you, pressing his hands to the glass in disbelief and joy, he found you.

“Y/n!”

He ran down those stairs, jumping a few steps every now and then, just desperate to get to you. Once he finally found the exit, he took a moment to realize just how high up he had been originally. But he had no time to dwell on where he was, just rushing over to you, accidentally slipping on a pillow. He crashed with a loud scream, jolting you awake from your sleep. You rubbed your eyes and looked over to see Lucas getting on his hands and knees, the look on his face told you everything, so you chuckled.

“Are you okay? I heard a really loud thud.”

“I’m fine… are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, just a mess of pillows and blankets.”

“It’s so you have a comfier landing, guess you’re still having trouble with your wings.”

“What?”

“I can look them over if you want. You haven’t crashed into anything have you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, let me see.”

“No, no, we need to leave.”

“What? Leave? I don’t-”

“I can explain later, let’s just go.”

“Uh… okay…”

Lucas got to his feet and helped you up. He held your hand and had you follow him, although he noticed you were limping, hiding the pain by biting your lip.

“Are you hurt?”

“A bit…”

“What do you mean?”

“I hurt my leg in the fight.”

“What fight?”

“When I freed you… you told me I hurt my leg and couldn’t walk on it.”

“…”

“Don’t you remember? It’s kinda why I’m still here…” You blushed. “You feel responsible for my injury, and want to take care of me. At least that’s what you’ve told me.”

“Yeah… right, right…”

“Lucas are you okay? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“I’m fine, we need to go.”

He squeezed your hand, but was then distracted by the shadow that suddenly passed by. His gaze shot up, seeing some kinda bird flying around, and then it got closer. You knew what the shadow was, so seeing it made you question the Lucas before you. Instinctively you pulled your hand away and stepped back.

“Y/n?”

“Who are you?”

“It’s me, Lucas.”

“You’re not… you’re not Lucas…”

“What?”

While talking neither of you noticed the shadow beneath you growing bigger. Next thing Lucas knew he was kicked in the chest and flew back. He crashed against a wall, his vision going black for a moment, the wind knocked out of it. He shook his head, getting back on his feet, seeing himself, with wings, glaring at him.

“What the…”

Lůcas wasn’t too happy about returning to see you with someone else, let alone someone who looked like him. Anything was possible if he existed, so he was quickly suspicious of this duplicate. Although that wasn’t his priority. Now that he had taken down the other, he focused on you. He tucked his wings back and grabbed your face, worry in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I… I am now… what’s going on? Why are there two of you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Y/n…”

Lůcas looked back and hissed, then grabbed you and flew up. Besides solid places to perch on, he had made a few hammock-like places near the walls for you to rest on, especially while in his arms. He set you down in one of them, being mindful of your injury, also moving his wings lightly to not cause the hammock to rock so much, but you didn’t just want to stay put.

“No, Lucas put me down! I can’t just-”

“Sh, you just stay here and get some rest. I’ll wake you when this is all over.”

“But…” You yawned. “I…”

“Sh, you’ll be just fine.”

No matter what Lucas said, you’d listen. The aura around him, just made him trustworthy, and it calmed you. Despite your initial protests you started feeling tired and laid down, Lůcas tucking you in, kissing your head, before diving back down. Lucas had already gotten back on his feet, but he wasn’t prepared to be pinned down so aggressively, a gust of wind making everything around them fly up.

“Who sent you!”

“What? No, no, what the fuck are you!”

“None of your business.”

“Where’s y/n? What did you do to her?”

“She’s safe!”

“Not here! You hurt her!”

“You don’t know shit!”

Lůcas punched the anomaly, strong enough to cause a nose bleed. Lucas tried to defend himself, but he was still confused over what was happening. He barely managed to throw his winged self off, and scrambled away. His nose hurt, and the blood wouldn’t stop gushing. Nothing made sense right now, and he couldn’t even get to you anymore. Although his current problem was his doppelganger, who could apparently fly, and was kicking his ass. It was actually a miracle Lucas was still alive, and that made him realize what was happening.

If this situation was like Ten with his double, then anything was possible. Lucas wiped the blood from his face, knowing it would no longer be a problem. He got out of his hiding spot, charging at his doppelganger, wings exploding from his own back, and helping him get off the ground to tackle the other with a lot more force than he could manage on his own. His actions caught Lůcas off guard, making the attack successful, but he should have suspected this copy would have abilities similar to his own.

The place was built in a manner that would allow for flight, moreso a battle in the air. They would come at each other, throwing punches and shoving one another, trying to cause a crash. Of course Lucas struggled at first. This wasn’t real, humans didn’t actually have wings, so he had to somehow figure out how to fly. To his own surprise he did, or at least manages to keep up with his double. He knew he couldn’t grab you, not while he had this other guy on him. No one had to die, although Lůcas seemed hell bent on killing him.

At first Lucas was at the disadvantage because he couldn’t fly. If he could get rid of Lůcas ability to do so, he could grab you and go. Maybe this was something his brain cooked up, but it was still the Frame, and he still had some control over it. Lucas focused more on dodging, knowing what he had to do. When he had the chance he dove down and then quickly back up, now behind Lůcas. He didn’t waste the chance and grabbed the others’ wings, tightly, and broke them in a swift motion.

Lůcas screamed in agony, and as he fell he looked over at where you were, knowing he’d no longer be able to reach you. When he hit the ground he screamed again, landing on his wings. They’d heal, in time, but he didn’t have that, or you to help him. In desperation he moved his wings, trying to fly, but it just caused more pain, and he collapsed, barely conscious. Lucas only watched for a while, making sure his doppelganger couldn’t get to him, or you, anymore.

He carefully flew over to where you were resting. You were still asleep, none of the previous events waking you from your slumber. He was relieved, although it didn’t seem like you’d be waking up anytime soon. At least he didn’t need you awake, you were alive, and now he could get you out. He carefully picked you up in his arms, your subconscious snuggling against him bringing a smile to his face.

He didn’t need a door to escape this place, so he just flew up. Where he had started was just a glass ledge, so there was a huge opening in the ceiling, big enough for him to fly through, so that’s where he went. As he got closer to the exit he was engulfed in white. The light blinded him and once it was gone he found himself in that prison again. You were no longer in his arms, and he didn’t have wings either. He didn’t care much for it, just worried about you again. Although he was where he began and he saw your cell, relieved.

“If you hurt her I swear!”

Lucas was a bit surprised when he saw his twin appear inside a previously empty cell. They were pissed, which was understandable, but also knew they were trapped. Lůcas tried a few hits on the glass but nothing happened.

“Give her back to me! She needs me!”

“What did you do with her? Messed with her head or something?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You do!”

“Where is she!”

Lucas didn’t want to waste his time, rolling his eyes and walking away, ignoring the screams behind him. Lůcas hit the glass a few more times in frustration, hating this confinement, and most of all hating that his wings were gone. It was like before, but he didn’t have you to help him. He was alone again, everything stripped from him, even you. It hurt like nothing else, and made him anxious knowing you were without him.

“She’s only safe with me.”


	13. WɨnWɨn

Sicheng stood and stretched, now that he was free from his confinement. A low chuckle escaped his lips and he glanced over at you, his little helper. Your eyes were glassy, unfocused, but you were trying to gain clarity, trying to understand what you had just done. Your attempts just caused a headache. You tried to fight through the pain, as if grabbing your head would help, but it only got worse, making you whimper in agony.

“No, no, no, don’t do that.”

Sicheng grabbed your hands, having your focus shift to him, which ultimately helped ease the pain. He ran a hand through your hair, watching you fondly. You were so lost, so confused, but that’s just what he wanted. He pulled you into his arms, rubbing your back.

“It takes all those pills just to make me a little docile and obedient, I can only imagine what it would do to your little brain.”

“Sicheng…”

“Sh, doesn’t it hurt to think? To use that pretty little brain of yours. Although I suppose it’s much prettier now that it’s mine.”

“Uh… no… I…”

“The medicine will take a very long time to wear off for you, that is if permanent damage hasn’t been caused.” He smirked. “Don’t worry about it kitten, I’ll do all the thinking for you. Now just tell me you’ll do whatever I say.”

“I… I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Good girl. See? No pain at all. Now let’s go.” He kissed your forehead, staring down at your cute, blank, little look. “Smile for me.”

A soft smile spread across your face, satisfying him. He took your hand and led you out of the room. As long as you stayed by his side he knew escaping wouldn’t be a problem.

Sicheng ran through that door, so worried about you, your screams echoing in his mind. Although he quickly found himself held back. As his new reality set in he realized he was chained down to a concrete chair. In a panic he began to pull on them but they wouldn’t budge, he was trapped. This couldn’t be real, he had to find you, wherever you were, he knew you were in danger. His panic only grew and it culminated into him screaming to the heavens.

As he leaned back to catch his breathe, trying to think of his next move, the lights in the room suddenly turned red. He could hear a commotion outside, his eyes finally landing on the small table, a glass of water sitting on a tray, and the door behind it. Whatever was going on, he needed to know, he needed to escape. You were here somewhere, and he couldn’t stay locked up forever.

Nothing made sense, but it was the Frame, so everything made sense to someone, to whoever was in control. Even though Kun usually took control, the rest could always manipulate smaller things in the world. He was only trapped because he thought he was. Sicheng took a deep breathe and closed his eyes, when he opened them the chains around him were gone. He was happy with the results but couldn’t dwell on them, running towards the door.

When he opened it he was momentarily blinded by the bright white halls. The place looked like some kind of hospital, and the glowing red light didn’t make it feel any better. There were some people around, but they all seemed panicked. One of them said something about an asset out of containment that had taken a hostage. He could put two and two together, going in the opposite direction of everyone else.

He knew he was going the right way when he came across multiple people dressed in black uniforms on the ground. Some were barely conscious, others knocked out, and a few actually seemed dead. What was most interesting was the fact that those who were somewhat awake would flinch or tense up as he passed, as if they were afraid of him. He felt bad, but he had to remind himself these people weren’t real, no one here was real besides himself and you.

Sicheng continued following the bodies until he found what he wanted. As he turned a corner a body fell to the floor in front of him. Down the hall he saw himself, lowering his leg, an amused smirk on his face. Their eyes met, so his double acknowledged his presence, but didn’t seem to care. Although what was important was the hostage, you. He saw you quietly standing behind Sɨcheng, completely out of it.

“Let’s go.” Sɨcheng ordered. “We’re done here.”

You moved to follow, vaguely aware of the person down the hall, but that wasn’t your concern. Merely dwelling on it for a second would hurt.

“Wait!” Sicheng called, running after you. “What are you doing!”

Sɨcheng scoffed, but stopped. He pulled you forward, having you turn around to face him. Out of the corner of your eye you saw the other Sicheng slow down, but definitely getting closer.

“Eyes on me, kitten.” Sɨcheng whispered. “You just stay put. Okay?”

“Okay…”

“Good girl.”

Sɨcheng cracked his neck and turned around. The sight of a doppelganger didn’t bother him at all, what was annoying was the interruption, he already had security to worry about.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sɨcheng hissed. “I’m leaving.”

“Yeah… yeah I can see that. Although it seems you’re not supposed to.”

“I do what I want. And now, I want to leave.”

“Fine, but she stays.”

Sɨcheng laughed. “Not gonna happen.”

“You don’t need her. You got out of your chains, I’m guessing she helped you. So she’s of no use to you anymore.”

“Oh she can be very useful, and I have many ideas.”

“Let her go, and I’ll let you go.”

“You’re in no position to do anything, let alone make demands. What are you anyway? Some weird clone of mine designed to take my abilities?”

“I’m the real you, and you will let y/n go.”

“Make me.”

Sɨcheng cracked his knuckles and got into a fighting stance, as did his doppelganger. He had beaten plenty others just moments ago, this would be easy, although he noticed something. His twin seemed eager to throw a punch, and if his theory was correct, they should be just as capable as him. Either way, all they wanted was you, so why not give them that, and give himself a show. His stance relaxed and he stepped back.

“On second thought. Kitten.” Sɨcheng turned back to you and kissed your cheek. “Kill him for me.”

“What!”

You quickly wound up with tunnel vision for Sicheng, and ran at him. Sicheng on the other hand was suddenly very worried. He didn’t want to hurt you, but it seemed that you would hurt him. You jumped at him but he dodged last minute, grabbing you and pinning you to the wall.

“Y/n, stop this!”

“Kill him, kitten.” Sɨcheng ordered. “Or at least knock him out before more security comes.”

“Y/n-”

You slammed your head against Sicheng and kicked him back. He crashed against the wall and then you swung for his face. You landed the first blow, but he blocked the rest. He didn’t want to fight you, but you weren’t giving him much choice.

“Y/n, please.”

“She won’t listen to you, only me.”

Sicheng groaned, as much as he wanted to avoid this, he couldn’t. When you swung next he went under and grabbed you from behind. The best thing he could do was probably choke you out but before he got the chance you elbowed him in the face. He stumbled back, grabbing his nose, and you quickly turned around, grabbing his head and kneeing him in the gut. Sicheng got the wind knocked out of him, and for good measure, when he stood you kicked his chest and knocked him down.

“You’re a lot more capable than I could have imagined.” Sɨcheng laughed. “Come here, kitten, I think we’re done.”

Your eyes got glassy again, Sicheng noticed, but he was still winded. You hurried back over to Sɨcheng, who pet you and ran a hand through your hair.

“Such a good girl.”

“She’s not…” Sicheng stumbled to his feet. “Your play thing.”

“But she is! Such a cute brainless kitten, needs someone to think for her. Poor little thing wouldn’t know what to do with herself otherwise. She needs me, that is unless the medication wears off.”

“Medication? You drugged her!”

“More or less, she did take a lot of pills her self.”

“Let her go!”

“Did you not hear me? She’s helpless without me, if anything I’m doing her a favor.”

“Let. Her. Go.”

“I’d say make me again, but we both know how that turned out.”

Sicheng glared. This wasn’t real, no, this situation wasn’t real. Sɨcheng was real, even just a little bit, and you were very real. That asshole across the way was him, and he recently realized an alternative option he had, he just didn’t want to do it. As you began to walk away with Sɨcheng he took a breathe.

“Y/n. Come here.”

You stopped, whimpering from a headache that was coming on. It didn’t get better until you took a step away from Sɨcheng and moved towards the other. Although you didn’t get far. Sɨcheng laughed and yanked you towards him, glaring at his double.

“Nice try, but she’s mine.” Sɨcheng grabbed your head, forcing you to look at him. “You only listen to me, kitten, don’t forget that.”

“I…”

“Sh, don’t think, obey.”

“Don’t fucken touch her!”

“Shut up! I should have just dealt with you myself!”

“Try it!”

Sɨcheng pushed you behind him, smirk on his face. He stomped his foot down, making the ground shake and also creating a wave of energy to knock Sicheng into the wall again. It hurt worse than the last, but Sicheng had to remind himself nothing was real. He forced himself back up, pushing back the false pain. Once he felt steady he started walking towards you two, but Sɨcheng was ready, meeting him halfway.

“I’m going to kill you myself.”

“Bet.”

Sicheng threw the first punch, and it was as brutal as he wanted it to be. But this fight wasn’t supposed to last. If his evil twin had powers, then he did too. When he got an opening he managed to kick Sɨcheng through a wall. He hoped that would keep him down for a moment, cause that’s all he needed. He wasted no time trying to catch his breathe, running to you and taking your hand.

“Come with me.”

You followed Sicheng, keeping close to him, wherever he was going. As you ran down the halls, apparently also looking for some exit, it wasn’t surprising you wouldn’t be alone for long. Sɨcheng had recovered and was storming after you.

“Y/n!” His voice boomed. “Stop right there.”

You froze and fell to your knees, grabbing your head. It felt like your brain was on fire, and you were silently screaming, tears streaming down your face. Sicheng went ahead a few steps before he realized you had stopped. When he looked back and saw you, he was scared, running to your side.

“Y/n… y/n breathe, you’re alright.”

“Sicheng…”

“Just… just listen-”

“She’s mine!”

Sicheng could see his doppelganger approaching. He was starting to panic like before, but then he remembered he was in more control than he thought. He didn’t need to go back to where he started, any door could be his exit if he wanted it to. Despite being in pain, he didn’t have time to comfort you. He got you on your feet and dragged you through the nearest door, the last thing he saw was Sɨcheng running towards him.

When he turned around he was in the prison, and you weren’t there with him. He dropped to his knees, feeling like everything had been for nothing, but then he caught some movement up ahead. He realized your cell was a few feet away from him, and he was relieved that he wasn’t completely alone, although you were still locked up and unconscious.

“Shouldn’t you know by now? You can’t contain me.”

Sɨcheng casually leaned against the glass, the cell he was in right next to Sicheng. He stared down at his uncaged counterpart. Sicheng got up and glared.

“You won’t have anyone to help you this time.”

“Is that so? Then amuse me, where is my kitten?”

“She’s not a pet, let alone yours.”

“I beg to differ.”

Sɨcheng merely smirked and stepped away from the glass. He wasn’t worried or angry. He had been locked up before, already gone through the motions of anger and screaming, no point doing it again. All he had to do was be patient, he’d get his chance, and he’d get you back.

“She belongs to me.”


	14. Kůn

You were scared to say the least, even though you did well not to show it. Kun approached you, a devilish smile on his face. You didn’t know what he wanted, and you moved back until you hit the door. Even though you didn’t look it, he could tell you were afraid. He reached over and grabbed your ID card, which was hanging around your neck. He unlocked the door, and when he noticed security on the other side, glass shards shot out of the room and stabbed them all. You heard the bodies drop and hesitantly looked at the scene.

“It seems you were followed.”

“What?”

“Let’s go.”

Kun pulled you out of the room and into the hall, now all you could see were the bodies. You hoped they weren’t dead, but the urge to throw up was still there. Kun rubbed circles into your back, pushing you forward. He didn’t care if he stepped on blood but you were being very careful. You nearly slipped but he caught you in time, and then you noticed all the glass that was following him.

“Kun…”

“You know the way out, so just tell me where to go.”

“Right… right…”

“Fuck.”

Kun tripped through the door, falling to his hands and knees. His hands just missed landing on the glass around, but he could see his own reflection in the shards, seeing just how much his image had changed. He couldn’t worry about that, getting to his feet and taking in the room he was in. The padded walls were shredded and he figured the opening was what remained of a glass wall.

The door in front of him was definitely not the one he came through. Either way, this room, it wasn’t somewhere he wanted to stay. He walked over to the door, there was no knob, but there was a scanner. Under different circumstances he’d be trapped but this was the Frame. Since he was usually in control he knew how to navigate it well, even without being the mastermind. He placed his hand on the door and commanded it to open, it did, but he didn’t like what he saw.

Bodies littered the hallway before him, pieces of glass sticking out of them. For a moment he was horrified but quickly reminded himself this wasn’t real, they weren’t real. He just had to find you and get out of here, whatever here was. He stepped over the bodies and then ran through the halls. Since he wanted to find you, he trusted he would even without knowing where he was going.

Kůn took your hand once you got past the bodies. The lights weren’t flashing anymore but they were now a solid red. That meant patients were in their cells, staff was safe, and security was doing a safety check. Anyone else who would be roaming the halls was in danger of being shot on sight. You didn’t want Kůn to get hurt, but you needed to talk to him before he did something rash.

“Where are we going?”

“Out.”

“Do you… do you still want my help? You know, someone to talk to?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then why are we leaving?”

Kůn stopped. “Are you saying you won’t take care of me anymore?”

“No, that’s not it. What I mean is that… you’re getting better but if we leave I don’t know what will happen. I-”

You were cut off when a security guard yelled at you to freeze. You quickly jumped in front of Kůn, asking the guard not to shoot. Although he called for reinforcement, saying one of the special patients was out of confinement. For now you could trust neither of you would get shot, but you needed to convince Kůn to go back to his cell peacefully, or at least go to a new one. You turned to face him, asking him to focus on you.

“Kun, it’s dangerous for you to leave in this state. We need to continue our conversations in a controlled environment. So you don’t hurt yourself or others.”

“Are you scared of me?”

“I… despite taking care of you all this time, I was never told what made you so special. I don’t know what you’re capable of, and that’s what I’m afraid of. Not you.”

“Good. You shouldn’t be afraid of me.”

You noticed glass floating around you again. The guard started yelling and then you heard the gurgled choking. You looked back and screamed, the guard dead on the floor, blood pooling around them. You couldn’t help but freak out at the sight, much closer to the violence this time than the last. Kůn laughed and hugged you from behind, holding you close to calm you down.

“Sh, I won’t hurt you, never.”

“Kun… Kun this… it’s wrong, you can’t kill people! Your powers… you shouldn’t use them like this.”

“These people have had me locked up. They deserve to be punished. You don’t know all they’ve done to me!”

“But… but aren’t I one of the people who’s kept you locked up? Shouldn’t I be punished too?”

“No, no, I’ve heard the rumors doctor.”

“What rumors?”

“You don’t treat me like your other patients. You made me a promise, remember? You’d always be there for me, and you are not breaking that promise.”

“Kun…”

“Y/n!”

Hearing your name actually startled you, and Kůn to a degree that you slipped out of his embrace. You couldn’t believe what you saw, rubbing your eyes for a moment when another Kun turned the corner and was running towards you. They smiled, a much softer smile than you had never seen before.

“I found you.”

“Kun? How… how are there-”

“What is this?!” Kůn pulled you behind him. “Who are you?”

“I don’t have time for this. Y/n, listen to me, none of this is real.”

“What?”

“Think about it. Think about your life, you-”

“Stop talking to her!” Kůn spat. “You didn’t answer my question, what are you!”

“I’m you, but just more, now shut up.”

“You first.”

Pieces of glass were pulled from the guard’s corpse. You grabbed Kůn’s arm, begging him to not hurt this other person, even if you were confused about them, but he just shoved you back. Kun wasn’t too surprised that his doppelganger was capable of something like this. They were a part of him, and he knew a lot about the Frame and how to manipulate it. Although ultimately he was the stronger one, so when the glass shot forward at him, he stopped it and made the pieces disappear.

“How did you…”

“Home field advantage.”

Kun telepathically shoved his doppelganger away from you, knocking them out and brought you a little closer to him. He stopped though when you screamed, not wanting you to be afraid of him. This scenario his twin had created, it wasn’t perfect, even he wouldn’t be able to make it perfect, and one of the flaws were the characters. The life you were thrown into here, it was all a lie and if he could make you see that, you’d come to your senses and he could get you to come with him.

“Y/n, you have to listen to me, this world, it’s not real.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Think about it, you’re not some doctor.”

“Excuse me!”

“No, what I mean… fuck… your childhood, think about your childhood, or how you became a doctor. Yes, that, tell me where you studied, and who was your favorite teacher your second year.”

“What?”

“Just think about it, please.”

“I…”

As you began to think of the past it all seemed hazy, and you just had this vague feeling of studying, of growing up. Your life, your memories, it was like they were made of sand and you were just sticking your hands through them.

“Kun… what… what’s-”

Neither of you noticed Kůn regaining consciousness, or getting his hands on a syringe. As you were trying to voice your thoughts you suddenly felt a needle jabbed into your neck, Kůn emptying out its contents into you. You struggled in his grasp but felt yourself losing strength, and your little revelation was slipping away.

“Y/n!”

“No one messes with her, but me.”

“None of us should be messing with her! Period!”

Kun threw his doppelganger back again and ran to catch you before you hit the ground. Luckily you had just been given a sedative, he couldn’t imagine what effect something else would have had on your mind. He held you tight, knowing he could leave now, and using the nearest door as an exit before his duplicate tried anything else.

Everything changed so quickly, back in the prison now without you. This was his least favorite place for many reasons, and now he had another. At least he recognized the exact location, seeing that you were still in the same cell as before. He checked on you, watching from behind the glass, seeing you were still unconscious, but would shift around a bit, so you were alive. He stayed there until he heard some banging and turned around to see Kůn in a cell.

“I should be able to break this!”

“As long as you’re locked up here, you have no power.”

“Where is she! Where’s y/n!”

“Safe, and away from you and whatever your plans were.”

Kůn glared. “I’ll get her back.”

He hit the glass one last time, trying to scare Kun, but it didn’t do much. He leaned against the wall and slid down, staring at the floor. Being in a cage was what he was used to, and you always made him feel less alone. Last time you helped him escape, but this time, he’d have to get out on his own to save you. To save you from his double and yourself.

“I’m the one who takes care of her.”


	15. Tën

You stopped screaming for Ten, for an explanation, when your throat began to hurt. You couldn’t remember much of anything, but you knew you weren’t supposed to be locked up. Something happened that justified this for Ten, but you didn’t know, so confinement felt unfair. Although you weren’t the only one locked up. The others were in cells too, and for the moment you couldn’t remember why either.

“Let’s get started.”

You heard Ten’s voice above you. It was loud, and you could tell the others heard it too. Gas started spilling into your cell from a vent. You screamed, unsure of what it was. You banged your fists on the glass, screaming for Ten again. Your cell wasn’t the only one filling up, the others concerned and demanding answers as well. When the gas hit, you started feeling dizzy. You sat down so you wouldn’t hurt yourself, and wound up laying down. Your head felt tingly but you couldn’t do anything as darkness engulfed you. 

“You’ll need this, that is if you ever want to actually get to her.”

Tën flashed a transparent red card with a white V printed on it, a smirk on his face. He tucked it away and then ran off. Ten glanced back at you, still out of his grasp, he needed that card. He didn’t want to leave you but the choice wasn’t his anymore. He yelled and banged the glass before running after his doppelganger. It was frustrating but he wasn’t surprised that he couldn’t just follow his twin wherever they went.

“How did you even take control!?”

“It’s actually very simple.” Tën’s voice echoed around. “But you don’t have all the details.”

“Like what?”

“Well, look around, do you know what this place is?”

“It’s a prison, a prison that you created.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong, I didn’t make this place.”

“What do you mean?”

“You might wanna save that question for Kun, your Kun that is.”

“What does he have to do with this?”

“Everything. He’s usually in control isn’t he? Don’t you think he has secrets?”

“You’re lying!”

“Why would I lie when the truth is so good! You know it too, but the part of you that knows is me and we’re not the same person right now.”

Ten was trying to follow the voice, but it echoed, and it seemed to be coming from a different direction every time he heard it. He was just getting lost, and now his doppelganger was just toying with him.

“What did you do to y/n!”

“Nothing harmful, I promise.” Tën assured. “Just put her to sleep and then… made sure everyone could have a piece to play with.”

“What did you do!”

“To put it simply, I just split her mind seven ways so me and my brothers could have some fun with her. After all, everything is possible here.”

“Then why not split her eight ways? Give us one, distract us so we wouldn’t realize something was wrong.”

“I underestimated how much time I had. But I promise I won’t make that mistake again.”

“There won’t be a next time!”

Tën chuckled. “You better hope like hell there isn’t, cause I’m very upset I didn’t get my fun.”

“Well I’m glad.”

“Don’t say that, you’re me after all. We could have dressed her up so nice, kept her safe and sound at home, played all night long. Goodness, just thinking about all the noises she could make, it really gets the blood pumping to all the right places.”

“Show yourself!”

“Come on, we could still do that you know, two’s better than one.”

“I’m not letting you anywhere near her again!”

“You mean you, after all this is your doing.”

“You are not me!”

“I am you, we already had this discussion.”

The lights started flickering, and then the ground started shaking. Ten lost his balance for a moment, nearly falling to the ground but catching himself. When it all stopped he noticed Tën on the floor in front of him, getting back on his feet.

“Fuck, it seems some of your brothers found what they’re looking for.”

“Give me the fucken key card.”

“Oh you mean this?” Tën flashed the card. “Catch me if you can!”

Tën bolted down the hall, and this time around Ten could actually see him, hear him, and keep up. This was all a game to his double, but not to him. The longer this went on, the more he’d be worried about you. He managed to close the space between them and tackle Tën to the ground. They rolled around for a while until Ten managed to pin him, and started going through his jacket.

“Well isn’t this hot.” Tën teased. “Didn’t know you’d wanna top.”

“Shut up.”

“Come on, you know you’d fuck you.”

“Shut. Up.”

When Ten finally got the card his twin was quick to snatch it away. He held it just out of reach, teasing him for a moment and then dropping it. Ten could only watch in horror as it slipped through the metal and disappeared.

“No!”

“Oops, did you need that?”

“You motherfucker!”

Ten punched his twin, ignoring his laughter and keeping at it until their smile was red. He was out of breath, anger just settling in now. He was still wasting time. Ten got to his feet and ran off to find your cell. He was stupid, none of this was real, and given the fact he actually caught Tën, it meant they were losing control over the Frame. Ten found your cell, happy to see you were still there, but more so to see your eyes fluttering open.

“Ten… Ten whatever I did… I’m sorry… please… please…”

“Sh, I’m going to get you out.”

Ten pulled the key card from his pocket, using it to unlock your cell. He pulled you out and held you in his arms. You were partially conscious, mumbling apologies, a few tears on your cheeks. He kissed your head, just happy to be holding you.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I got you.”

“Ten…”

“Sh, save your strength, you’re safe now.”

“You would think that.” Tën scoffed. “But I deserve to have my turn.”

“Fuck off!”

Tën had a cocky look on his face, sauntering over. He reached over to pull at Ten’s hair, only for his hand to go right through. 

“What the-”

Everything changed around him, and he realized he had walked into your now empty cell, well not empty anymore. Ten managed to create an illusion to trick his doppelganger with, proud of himself for it too. The door shut behind Tën and when he looked back he could see Ten on the outside, holding you.

“Clever.” 

“I told you I wouldn’t let you near her.”

“Well I’m sure you’d be happy to know this is actually my cell. Feels just like home.” He hit the glass. “Now let me out.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh I’m not asking for my sake, I’m asking for hers.” Tën hissed. “Have you forgotten who started all this? Who’s been messing with her head, who can fix her or break her more. You have no idea what my brothers have done with her in their play time, and I’m quite sure you won’t like it. Trust me.”

Tën paced around his little cell, the lights flickering again and then turning red. He could see Ten freak out for a moment, his grip on you tightening. It made him chuckle. When everything settled Tën just stared at your sleeping form, a smile creeping on his lips.

“She needs me.”


	16. The Escape

Once everything had settled, Ten realized he was no longer alone, and the other cells were no longer empty. The others were there, as were their doubles. They were glad to see each other, but mostly glad to see you weren’t locked up anymore.

“Is she okay?” Kun asked.

“Yeah, just still unconscious.”

“That’s a lie.” Tën countered. “She’s far from okay.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Xiaojun growled. “What did you do?!”

“Me? I never had my turn, better question is what did you do?”

“What?” Hendery said. “We rescued her!”

“From your doppelgangers. Didn’t you see what they were up to?” Tën chuckled. “Just look at the maknae line for starters. YāngYāng over here kidnapping and drugging her, keeping her happy and all to himself. Hëndëry being the great protector who is so ready to kill anyone who vaguely threatens to take y/n away from him. And Xiaøjun, my goodness, she was dying with you, you tried to play innocent but adding the deadly twist to the whole ‘if I can’t have her, no one can’ scenario. Wonder how all that will play with her psyche.”

It was an understatement to say those three felt guilty as it all started becoming clear to them. They had just gone in to get you but thinking back on it, what Tën said, it made sense. Also wasn’t surprising to see the hyungs getting upset.

“Don’t be too hard on them. The rest of you aren’t exempt either. Lůcas was a literal guardian angel, wings and all, protecting her kind and innocent soul, even if he had to manipulate her. I feel like Sɨcheng takes the cake though, drugging her stupid, didn’t know you could be so controlling. Then we have Kůn with the long con, playing doctor patient dress up, slowly getting into her head, making her submit through twisted love, and fear. You’ve all caused damage, one way or another.”

“And you?” Sicheng spat. “What did you contribute?”

“I suppose causing it, but we’re all to blame, some more than others though.”

“Huh?”

“Oh right, you don’t know yet. Kun, dear, care to explain where we are? What this place is?”

All eyes were suddenly on Kun, even the doubles watched him with curious smiles, they knew the answer, but the revelation would be just as sweet. Ten was already aware that he needed to ask this question, but he was beaten to it. Kun looked at all of them and took a breath.

“It’s a prison.”

“We can see that!” YangYang exclaimed. “Why does this exist!?”

“To protect us…” Kun admitted. “We… we can do anything here… and I was worried about our darkness taking advantage of that. So I created this place to lock that part of us away.”

“You fractured our minds?” Lucas questioned. “And you never told us!”

“It doesn’t cause you any harm! You’ve never noticed before anyway. This place manifests first when we enter the Frame, takes our fucked up shit and makes sure it doesn’t hurt anyone.”

“Except now.” Xiaojun stated. “You said this place exists first… which means y/n wound up here… alone… surrounded by our darkness…”

“Bingo!” Tën cheered. “This prison does limit what you all do in the Frame just a bit, but guess what? Seven cells, seven prisoners, but eight minds. There was nothing holding y/n back, so she wound up in control by default, while the rest of you good boys had yet to show up. And since she was here, it wasn’t hard to have her let me out.”

“And you couldn’t let the rest of us out?” Lůcas hissed. “Wouldn’t be so hard.”

“No offense, I didn’t really trust us all to behave around y/n, I still let you have your fun.”

“But we were interrupted.” Sɨcheng reminded. “Because of you.”

“Sorry about that… I kinda had to distract them while I made… preparations.”

“For what!” YāngYāng growled. “This isn’t fair!”

“I was getting to the important part.” Hëndëry whined. “It would have been great.”

“We nearly escaped!” Xiaøjun added. “It was supposed to be beautiful!”

“You could have at least destroyed this place.” Kůn said. “Keep us from coming back here.”

“Oh please, you know this prison is the foundation of the Frame. I would need to build something as strong before destroying it, and even then, I’m just part of a person. I don’t have that kinda power.”

“But y/n did.” Hendery mumbled. “And she gave you power… enough to-”

“This is all your fault!” Lucas pinned Kun to the wall. “You knew what would happen to us when we entered the Frame, but you forgot about y/n! She wound up here because of you!”

“Easy there angel.” Tën teased. “Or have you forgotten who suggested that she come along? I’m sure everything would have been fine without an anchor but…”

“It was me.” Ten realized. “I suggested she join us…”

“And convinced the rest. We knew what would happen, what we could do, if she came along.”

“You did this?” YangYang was in disbelief. “You wanted this to happen?”

“No! No I didn’t…”

“I am you, remember, all the fucked up shit anyway. So deep down, you wanted this, and deep down, we’ll always be pissed we didn’t get our play time.”

“You’re lying!”

“Then I guess you’re lying to yourself. I’m sure you all are.”

“That’s enough!” Kun shouted. “You’re locked up, you’re not in control anymore.”

“I have enough control to provide you with a favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yes, after all, our time is up.” 

One by one each of the boys disappeared, and then their counterparts. For a moment you were alone, laying on the floor, before everything blinked out of existance, just like you.

❤

The boys all jumped awake, taking in a breath, finding themselves where it all began. It took them a moment to stabilize, having never left the Frame in such an abrupt way before. Although once everything was clear, they got the full story. They knew what their twins, what they had done with you in the Frame. There was guilt, horror, and a little bit of joy, but they’d never admit that last part to anyone.

“Is this real?” YangYang asked. “Are we out?”

“I think so.” Xiaojun rubbed his eyes. “This feels more real.”

“Pretty sure this is real.” Hendery said. “I know what happened in there… so my mind isn’t fractured anymore… right?”

“I’m sorry.” Ten breathe out. “I… I did this… this is my fault.”

“Are you kidding me.” Sicheng said. “Do you have any idea what I did? You didn’t force me to… to…”

“I was just trying…” Lucas mumbled. “What was I doing…”

“We’re all to blame.” Kun stated. “We all did something.”

“Wait, what about y/n?”

They all finally noticed you hadn’t woken up, still asleep at the end of the table. They all quickly got up, surrounding you. Lucas laid you down on the table, Xiaojun checking your pulse.

“She’s breathing but… why isn’t she waking up?”

“She can’t be trapped there.” Sicheng said. “Can she?”

“No, we’re all connected in there.” Kun reminded. “If we left so would she.”

“Then why hasn’t she woken up!”

“I don’t know!”

They yelled back and forth to one another until you moved. The room went silent immediately, all watching you eagerly and with worry. You slowly opened your eyes, adjusting to the light. Your head felt a bit fuzzy, but you weren’t surprised considering you were in some dream world moments ago. You froze when you saw all the others staring at you intently, realizing you were laying on the table.

“Did everything go okay?” You asked as you sat up. “Are you guys okay?”

“…”

“How are you feeling?” Kun suddenly asked. “Good?”

“Uh, yeah, just a little dizzy, but that’s probably expected right?”

“Yeah, yeah it was your first time.”

“So did it go well? I don’t really know what you guys did.”

“You… you don’t remember?” Hendery questioned. “Anything?”

“No… was I supposed to? I thought I was just an anchor for you? That you didn’t really need…” You groaned. “Need me anywhere.”

“We should get you checked up.” Ten said. “You’re gonna need lots of rest too.”

“I’ll take her.” Lucas volunteered. “I’ll carry you.”

You didn’t get to argue as Lucas scooped you up in his arms, hesitating for a moment as he remembered doing this before in a very different situation. He forced a smile and carried you to the infirmary as you snuggled against him. Sicheng, Hendery, and YangYang followed, the others just staying behind.

“She doesn’t remember anything.” Xiaojun said. “Is that a good thing?”

“That’s the favor.” Kun mentioned. “That she wouldn’t remember what we did.”

“For her sake?” Ten wondered. “Or ours?”

“I don’t know.”


	17. Resolution

No one wanted to talk about it, what they did, what they experienced. They rather deal with the guilt themselves, especially since the only person who would bring it up didn’t even know what happened. So they all stayed quiet and acted like nothing was wrong, they wished nothing was, but as much as they wanted to ignore and move past this they couldn’t.

You seemed fine, so it only served to ease their concern. Except you weren’t fine, the signs were all there, they were just blind to them. There were subtle changes to the way you acted around them, then again, they wouldn’t be so subtle if they just paid attention. It all went unnoticed for a while until Sicheng came face to face with the consequences.

“I’m telling you, I’m right.”

“No, I am.”

“Well, we’ll see soon enough.”

You and Sicheng were making snacks, movie night about to begin. While you were preparing you two had started debating a movie detail, each of you saying something different. Once the movie began the argument left your mind, more concerned with cuddling Sicheng and enjoying the film. Although once the scene previously discussed came up, the argument returned.

“See!” You jumped up. “I told you I was right.”

“Whatever.”

“Oh, is someone upset they were wrong?” You teased. “You shouldn’t doubt me.”

“Can we just enjoy the movie?”

“I wanna hear you say I was right.”

“...”

“Sicheng, say it, I was-”

“Just shut up.”

Sicheng got off the couch, taking the empty snack bowl with him to the kitchen sink. He wasn’t actually angry with you, just a little annoyed he was wrong, he could have swore he knew that movie inside and out. He put the bowl in the sink, running some water on it, deciding to clean it later. When he got up he expected you to yell and tease him some more, but you had gone quiet. He felt a bit guilty, maybe he sounded too harsh.

“Since when do you listen to me?”

He plopped back down on the couch, you sitting on the other side watching the movie. He only watched the screen for a while, the silence between you becoming uncomfortable. He stared at you for a while, hoping to get your attention but nothing happened. In fact you weren’t doing anything at all.

“Are you giving me the silent treatment? Come on, I didn’t-”

Sicheng had leaned over and grabbed your arm, tugging you towards him, then he saw it. He quickly let you go and moved away. You weren’t just quiet, you weren’t really there, eyes glassy with a blank expression. He recognized it immediately, and it scared him.

“Y/n… y/n!”

Once the initial shock passed he realized what he had done. He grabbed you, shaking you rather violently, voice cracking.  
“Y/n, snap out of it! I didn’t mean it like that!”

He had tears in his eyes, not sure how to fix this. He never even fixed it before, just removed you from the situation, but this time the villain and him were one in the same. His yelling had gotten the attention of the others and they all rushed into the living room.

“I didn’t mean it.” Sicheng cried while he hugged you. “Please y/n, I didn’t mean it.”

“What’s going on?” Kun asked. “What did you do?”

“It was an accident! I swear!”

“What was an accident?”

While standing around Ten had noticed how unresponsive you were. It always sucked for him that he knew exactly what his brothers had been up to, so he figured out what Sicheng was mumbling about pretty quickly. He pushed Sicheng aside, worried over seeing your unfocused gaze. He gently reached over, cupping your cheek.

“Y/n… I know you can hear me, fight this.”

“No!” Sicheng pushed Ten away. “That will only hurt her!”

“Then you have to fix this! She only listens to you in this state.”

“She only listens to him!”

“You are him!”

“No I’m not!”

“You know what I mean!”

“Can someone explain what’s going on?” Hendery interrupted. “What happened?”

“Remember what he… what I said in the Frame? Sicheng’s double really messed with y/n’s head, well, drugged her, she wound up dependent on him for basic commands. It seems he gave her one…”

“But we’re not in the Frame? She doesn’t remember what happened.”

“It doesn’t mean what we did wouldn’t leave marks.” YangYang said. “Ever since we… she’s been a lot happier with me lately, childish even. Now that I think about it… she’s been acting like she did with him… with me… and it’s made me really happy… like I don’t want it to end…”

“You haven’t done anything impulsive?” Lucas asked. “Have you?”

“No! No never… I’m just really happy…”

“She always seems kinda sick with me.” Xiaojun admitted. “Weak… and she relies on me a lot more than before… but she’s perfectly fine! I don’t… I don’t understand…”

“When she’s with us… her mind probably slips into whatever state it was in when she was with our doubles in the Frame.” Kun explained. “They were us after all. It explains why she’s been looking after me more lately… almost acting like a therapist.” 

“She comes to me when she’s scared, wants me to protect her.” Hendery added. “Just like he always promised…”

“She’s never been like this before though!” Sicheng said. “This is the first time she’s… I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“You need to calm down, Sicheng.” Ten ordered. “Your twin wasn’t an emotional mess when he was in control of y/n. Calm down, and focus, and then fix her.”

“I don’t know how!”

“Then figure it out!”

You suddenly whimpered, grabbing your head. Your brain felt like it was on fire, and yet this feeling wasn’t entirely new either. Everyone was worried about you now. Sicheng grabbed your hands and had you look at him as he pushed back his tears and anxiety.

“Breathe y/n, just breathe. Don’t fight, just focus on my voice. That’s all you need to do.” You gave a light nod. “Forget what I said earlier and just be yourself. You don’t need me to tell you what to do. Just take a deep breath okay.”

You followed Sicheng’s words, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. You had a minor headache lingering but you seemed to be your old self. The only problem was that you were now confused why all the boys were around and looking at you with worry, and how Sicheng had wound up kneeling down and holding your hands.

“Did… did something happen?”

Hearing you talk let everyone take a breath, but it just made you more confused. You cautiously pulled your hands away from Sicheng.

“Is everything okay?”

“It’s just fine.” Kun assured. “You must have been tired. Sicheng was a bit freaked out over how fast you fell asleep.”

“Oh…”

“Sorry.” Sicheng apologized. “I didn’t mean to worry everyone. Why don’t we get you to bed, y/n.”

“Yeah… yeah sure…”

Sicheng took your hand and helped you up, leading you to your room. You had questions but you held your tongue, just wanting to rest to pass the headache. The others stayed where they were, happy you were alright and back to normal, but knowing they now needed to talk about that. They waited for Sicheng to return, tell them you were in bed.

“What do we do now?” Xiaojun asked.

“We have to fix this.” YangYang said. “We have to go back into the Frame with her.”

“We can’t do that.” Kun countered.

“And why not?!”

“For starters, she’d wind up remembering everything, all at once, and who knows how that would affect her.”

“She’d also wind up with our… darkness again.” Sicheng added. “And that’s what got us in this mess.”

“Then make a place for her darkness.” Hendery suggested. “So we’re all balanced.”

“It’s not that simple.” Ten said. “She was terrified to be locked up, darkness or not that fear would only grow worse. Besides how exactly do you think going back to the Frame can fix this?”

“We can do anything there.” YangYang reminded. “We can put her back in those situations, with the real us, and change the outcome.”

“Are you insane!” Xiaojun yelled. “I was practically killing her! I am not putting her back in that situation, nor do I wanna put myself there. You were just drugging her and keeping her happy!”

“You think I like this? I kidnapped her! From an asylum where she was getting help or whatever! How else do you think we can fix this?!”

“She’s gonna remember the truth anyway.” Hendery stated. “What’s the harm in going back?”

“I don’t trust myself to go back with her.” Lucas admitted. “I took advantage of her trust and manipulated her. The parts of us that did this still exist in us, just locked away, if they have a chance to go back to what they were doing, who says they won’t fight us? What if we go into the Frame and they come out?”

“That can’t possibly happen! Can it?”

“I don’t know.” Kun took a breath. “I don’t… we’ve never caused damage to one another before, I don’t know what would happen if we went back with y/n. And I don’t want to risk it.” 

“Then what are we going to do?” Sicheng asked. “I got lucky today, but what if I accidentally have her do something worse? I can’t watch what I say for the rest of my life… we can’t all be careful around her forever.”

“She’s gonna remember everything, whether she goes into the Frame again or not.” Ten said. “We need to prepare for that. Despite the fucked up shit we did… we cared about her, we were taking care of her, she knew that. It’s our methods that she will have to deal with.”

“So you want to avoid this until she breaks.” YangYang questioned. “Isn’t that worse than what I suggested.”

“Kun’s right though.” Hendery admitted. “We can’t take her back into the Frame without the risk of making things worse. We can do anything there, but here, we’re far more limited so we won’t cause more damage.”

“She’s gonna hate us.” Xiaojun realized. “Won’t she?”

“We don’t know that.” Kun said. “Not until…”

“She will.” Sicheng added. “Or at least be afraid of us, me for sure.”

❤

Things definitely changed this time around, especially now with the boys having confessed their sins to each other. But of course you were out of the loop. All you knew was that after that movie night with Sicheng, the boys had grown a bit distant, and were cautious around you. As if you were glass, as if one wrong move would break you, but you weren’t that fragile. You didn’t say anything about the change in atmosphere, somewhat afraid of the answer, but you already had your own.

Something was wrong, and you couldn’t help but feel like it was your fault. You felt like they needed space, and even if it would hurt, you’d give it to them. You packed a bag of your things. It was still early in the days so the guys were probably still in the kitchen with breakfast. When you walked in with a bag over your shoulder they all went quiet.

“Guys… I’m… I’m a leave the house for a few days.”

“What? Why?” Ten asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know… things have felt different.”

“How?”

“...”

“Y/n?”

“You tell me.” Your voice cracked. “You’ve all been so distant lately… as if I wouldn’t notice. I don’t know what I did wrong but ever since I went with you guys to that… place or whatever, things have been different. I don’t know what happened but I feel responsible, and I’m sorry.”

“No, no this isn’t your fault.” Kun assured. “You shouldn’t feel-”

“But I do! You guys aren’t telling me something and are walking on eggshells around me. I… I can’t do this anymore… it hurts to know you’re lying to me and don’t even want to be around me. I just can’t anymore, so I’m gonna go and let you guys figure-”

“You’re not leaving.” Lucas grabbed you. “Do you understand?”

“I-”

“Say it.”

“I… I’m not leaving…”

“You don’t wanna leave, do you? Cause you don’t.”

“I… I don’t wanna leave…”

“Lucas, what the hell are you doing!?” Sicheng screamed. “You can’t-”

“Quiet!” Lucas brushed some hair behind your ear, you seemed a bit dazed. “Go unpack your things and come join us for breakfast. And no more thinking about leaving, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Good girl.”

He kissed your head and then you quietly walked back to your room. Everyone was staring at him in disbelief, meanwhile Lucas was unbothered.

“How dare you!” Kun yelled. “You just-”

“She can’t leave! And you know that.” Lucas countered. “If she winds up remembering when she’s not with us who knows what would happen. She needs to stay with us.”

“You sound like him.” Ten hissed.

“I am him, no matter how hard I want to pretend it’s not true. If I keep denying it, things will get worse. I’ve accepted what I’ve done, and I will do better with that information.”

“Lucas-”

“What’s so wrong about using this… gift? When y/n remembers I can make her forget again, or Sicheng can, and we can make sure she won’t be hurt. If she’s ever upset we know YangYang can cheer her up instantly. If she’s scared she can go to Hendery to feel safe. Whenever she gets sick Xiaojun can probably make her feel better. We can take what we did and use it for good.”

“Manipulating her isn’t good.” Hendery reminded. “You’re taking away her free will.”

“For her own sake.”

“You do sound like him.”

“And what about you? Don’t tell me you don’t feel him in the back of your mind wanting to do whatever with y/n. I can keep my darkness in check now that I’m not constantly denying it. What do you think will happen if you keep suppressing it? Are you so certain you’ll win?”

“What you’ve done, and what you’ve suggested is dangerous.” Ten said. “You know that don’t you?”

“We keep each other in check. That’s what I mean, so none of us get carried away.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.” YangYang commented. “I always feel… better after spending some time with her… just drawing or cuddling.”

“This could end badly.” Kun added. “You know that right?”

“We have to try something, don’t we?” Lucas countered. “We already know what’s coming.”

“Then we can’t be alone with her for too long.” Sicheng suggested. “So no one ever gets caught up… in their darkness.”

“Sounds easy enough. Even with the danger.” Xiaojun said. “So no fighting it, just managing it.”

“That’s the idea, isn’t it? Kun, what do you say?”

“I don’t have a better idea. So let’s see where this goes.”


	18. Escalation

YangYang snuggled against you, his arms wrapped around you, keeping you close. He nuzzled your neck, an indescribable joy filling him completely. Maybe it was morning, or afternoon, or night, he couldn’t remember, he was just happy to have you in his grasp.

“YangYang.”

“Hm…”

“Get up.”

“Five more minutes.”

“You can have five more minutes, but not with her.”

“Huh?”

Kun pulled back the blanket, getting you out of YangYang’s arms. Although the boy instinctively held on to you, somewhat glaring at the other.

“YangYang… let go…”

“We’re sleeping.”

“She’s been with you for quite a while now, that’s enough.”

“Says who?”

“We agreed not to let each other spend too much alone time with y/n, so please, let go, before we wake her up.”

“Fine…”

YangYang pressed a kiss to your cheek before letting go, curling back up in bed. Kun sighed, glad you didn’t wake up. He carried you to his room, setting you down in bed so you could continue sleeping. They all kept the promise of monitoring each other’s time with you, but it seemed they did it out of jealousy rather than concern. Although it wasn’t a problem given that you actually seemed to be doing better. 

“Kun…”

“Sh, go back to sleep, sorry to wake you.”

“Come to bed…”

“I’m okay, I’m gonna make breakfast, you sleep some more.”

“Okay… can you make my favorite…”

“Sure, now go to sleep.”

“Hm…”

Kun gently pet your head, and gave you a kiss before leaving the room. He was quiet on his way out, also being quiet in the kitchen. One by one the others began to trickle in, setting the table and serving themselves. You were missing though, and so was Ten. Once Kun finished, he went to wake you, and not really surprised to find Ten in his bed curled up with you. He woke them both.

“Sleepy heads, breakfast.”

“It better be…” Ten mumbled. “It smells good.”

“Well get up before the others eat it all.”

Ten got up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The two boys then sat you up, seeing that you were mostly asleep, but gradually waking up. You smiled at them and got out of bed, still a little groggy when you got to the table. The boys filled your plate, some feeding you as well. It was a good morning, and most days were like that. You seemed to be well, no issues with them, and no issues relating to the dreamland trip. Or at least that’s what they thought.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Hendery… it hurts…”

One night, you started sobbing, and tossing around in your sleep. Hendery was at your side, and when you called his name he woke up. Your cries of anguish put him on alert. He took you in his arms, but you were just shaking.

“It hurts… Hendery… it hurts… I can’t see… where… help… please…”

“Y/n, it’s just a dream, wake up!”

“Don’t go… don’t leave me…”

“I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere, please wake up.”

Hendery was shaking you gently, trying harder over time until he managed to wake you. It was clear you were dazed, a few tears on your face.

“Hendery…”

“Yeah, I’m right here.”

You started sobbing again, burying your face in his shirt. He held you tight, trying to pretend he didn’t know what had just happened. You weren’t going to be okay anytime soon, and he didn’t want to be in trouble.

“Y/n, I need to do something real quick, so just-”

“No! Don’t go! Please…”

“I-”

“Please!”

You were shaking violently, clearly terrified. Hendery soothed you, assuring you that you weren’t going anywhere. He got a hand free and texted Lucas, asking him to come to his room immediately. Moments later a groggy Lucas walked in, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“What?”

You screamed when you noticed Lucas, not recognizing him in the dark, you hid behind Hendery. That woke Lucas up and he turned on the lights, staring at Hendery with a mixture of confusion and concern.

“What the hell did you do?!”

“Nothing! Can you just make her forget.”

“Forget what?”

“The dream she just had.”

“What was it about?”

“Look at her, does it matter? Do it fast before the others start waking up.”

“Hendery-”

“If Kun finds out he won’t let us keep things the way they are. He’ll take her.”

“Fine, fine, just stop talking.” Lucas crawled on the bed. “Y/n…”

You were still shaking, scared of Lucas in the moment. He smiled to try and ease your worries but it didn’t seem to do much. He gently took your hand, realizing just had badly you were shaking.

“Sh, easy y/n, take a deep breath for me. You’re okay, no one’s going to hurt you.”

“…”

“You can make the pain go away, just forget the dream okay. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath, and forget it.”

You had calmed down a bit, and did as you were told. You relaxed, leaning against Hendery, a few more tears falling, but you were better. Lucas pet your head, softly lulling you back to sleep.

“She should be okay now.”

“Good… please don’t tell Kun…”

“I won’t… I’ve done this a few times before. She gets panicked at night.”

“I thought she didn’t remember.”

“The truth is in her subconscious, so when she’s asleep, things can seep through.”

“Oh… it’s not bad to bury it again, is it?”

“No, she doesn’t remember in the end, so it’s a good thing.”

“Thanks, you should get to bed. I think we’re in the clear.”

“Make sure she’s okay before you knock out.”

“I will.”

♥♥♥♥♥

For the most part, they’d each get a few hours a day with you. The others were always around to make sure nothing bad happened, but there was always a bit of jealousy in their eyes. Life had gone back to normal for the most part, but there were a few changes here and there.

“Y/n…”

Xiaojun had gone looking for you, since you retired for a little nap after a long night. He checked all the rooms, and found you in Lucas’s room, but not on the bed. Actually, all the bed sheets and pillows were on the floor in a pile, you sleeping in the center. You seemed pretty comfortable despite the strange resting place.

“Y/n…” Xiaojun knelt down, shaking you. “Wake up.”

“Hm…” You opened your eyes, squinting at Xiaojun. “You’re not Lucas…”

“No, Lucas went out grocery shopping with Ten. What are you doing?”

“Sleeping… what are you doing?”

“Looking for you, do you want to help with dinner?”

“Sure.”

“But why are you on the floor?”

“It’s a nest, for me and Lucas, when he gets back.”

“A nest?”

“Yeah, you wanna lay down with me.”

“I’d love to but we gotta make dinner, come on.”

“Coming.”

You held your hands out and Xiaojun helped you up to your feet. You followed him to the kitchen and helped with dinner, a few of the others coming by to steal a piece of food now and then. Although Xiaojun wasn’t the only one to catch you around the house in a nest. One night, while Ten was going to the kitchen for a late night snack he tripped over you and your little nest. Apparently you stumbled out of bed and settled down in the living room to sleep. The incident woke you up.

“What the hell?” Ten glared. “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing? It’s late.”

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?”

“It’s comfy…”

“What’s going on?” Lucas suddenly sat up. “Dude it’s like the middle of the night.”

“What are you both doing here.” Ten hissed. “You could kill someone.”

“You’re too dumb to die.”

“Ya!”

“Sh, just, get whatever from the kitchen and go to bed.”

“Weirdos.”

♥♥♥♥♥

“You seem stressed.”

You were out shopping with Kun, the maknae trio somewhere in the toy section. It had been a while since you had been out, so the trip was a nice change, although you noticed that Kun seemed preoccupied. 

“Hm?”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Me?”

“No, I’m talking to the wall.”

“What’s it saying?”

You playfully punched him. “Very fun, but seriously. You’ve been worried about something for a while. You can talk to me if you need to.”

“I’m okay.”

“You don’t look like it. You don’t have to talk, but I am worried about you.”

“Aren’t you always?”

“Yeah, but more than usual.”

“You’re very sweet.”

“I think I got it from you.”

“Did you? I am pretty sweet.”

“Yeah, you taste like candy.”

“And you?”

“I don’t know, you can find out later.”

“Promise.”

“Yes… if you feel like spilling your guts now.”

“Y/n, I’m okay.” Kun chuckled. “I just have this uneasy feeling.”

“Are you worried about us?”

“I’m always worried about you.”

“But we’re okay.” You assured. “Actually I’m more worried about you guys. You haven’t done any dream walking in a while.”

“We’ve been on a break. It can… get addicting.”

“Oh, is that why you haven’t invited me before.”

“More or less.”

“Well I appreciate you looking out for me. You have to let me return the favor though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, how about I cook tonight. No help, just me and my skills.”

“I’ll ask the guys what they want to order, just in case.”

“Do you not trust my skills!”

“That’s not it… just gotta have a plan B.”

“Fine, but I get to cook right?”

“Sure.”

“Then we need to get groceries.”

“Alright, let’s go find the others first.”

That was a fun night. Despite saying you wanted to cook yourself, none of them really wanted to leave you alone in the kitchen. Playfully arguments began but you eventually let them help you out. It was a nice dinner, and at night you tucked in with Sicheng. The events had tired you out, so falling asleep was easy. Sicheng stayed up for a while watching dramas on his laptop as you slept next to him.

“Sicheng…”

“Hm?”

“It’s time for your meds…”

“What?”

Sicheng stared down at you, who was clearly still asleep. He thought he heard wrong, but then you repeated yourself, and he could only think of one response, just to test the theory.

“I don’t want to take my meds.”

“I’m afraid… you have to… it’s important… for your sessions.”

Even if it had been a long time ago, he knew you were repeating your words from before. He reached over and gently pet your head, seeing you relax.

“Do you feel sorry for me?”

“I don’t… know…”

“I don’t want to take my meds.”

“You have… you have to…”

“You take them for me.”

“Okay…”

“Such a good girl.”

“Hm…”

“The sun will be up in a few hours, you wanna go for a walk together.”

“Hm…”

“Good girl.”

When the sun started coming over the horizon he woke you up. You were a bit dazed, but capable of dressing yourself. He took a moment to just look at you, a smile on his face.

“Jump.” You did. “Smile. Now kiss me.”

Your joy always felt genuine in those moments, and he couldn’t deny how much he loved having you to himself like that. He pet your head and kissed your head, taking your hand and heading out. They weren’t supposed to be alone with you outside the house, but he didn’t care. He felt like some proper alone time was overdue. As he made his way to the door he suddenly felt your hand slip from his.

“What are you doing?” YangYang accused. “It’s so fucken early.”

“None of your business.”

“And why was y/n with you?”

“I said, none of your business.”

YangYang noticed you hadn’t said anything, and one look at your face reminded him of that one time. Since Sicheng wasn’t at all concerned, he had clearly changed his opinions in regards to his influence over you.

“Where were you going?”

“Leave us alone.”

“Sicheng, this isn’t fair to her.”

“She’s fine.”

“Si-”

“Y/n.”

You took YangYang’s hand and then twisted it behind his back. He yelled, nearly falling to his knees.

“What the hell.”

“We’re only going to go out for a while. We’ll be back-”

“Kun!”

“Shut up!” Sicheng covered YangYang’s mouth. “You’re being a brat.”

“Mm!”

“What’s going on…” Kun came in rubbing his eyes. “It’s so early.”

After a moment Kun noticed the scene in front of him. Sicheng backed down, and had you let go of YangYang too.

“I didn’t expect this from you.”

“Sure you did.”

Sicheng tried to go back to his room with you, but Kun stopped him, glaring. He knew what he meant, and talked you out of your haze and then left you with them. You were still mostly asleep. By then the others had gotten up too, seeing the last bits of drama.

“Ten, you should take her.”

“I know.”

♥♥♥♥♥

“You’re it!”

You were running around the dorm, avoiding YangYang in your game of tag. The two of you were absolutely annoying the others, but it was YangYang’s time, so they couldn’t really say anything. When it was the two of you, the dorm was filled with laughter. Sometimes the others would join in, but for the most part YangYang demanded to have your undivided attention. After games you’d most likely wind up in his room just drawing.

“What are you doodling today?” Ten came in with snacks. “Can I join?”

“Yeah!” You showed him your latest drawing. “Check it out.”

“It looks good.”

“I wanted some tips for improvement.”

“Alright then let’s take a look.”

“Mine are better than, Ten.” YangYang mentioned. “I should give you tips.”

“You both can!”

It was so easy to get lost in the good moments, they’d forget the bad, or completely ignore them. They all had their own secrets, their little moments of indulgence, cheating their way to happiness and stability. Without knowing, without meaning to, they were tearing you apart, and putting you back together over and over again. It was never going to last.

“I’ll help set the table!”

You volunteered and went over to the kitchen, helping Xiaojun. You were fine, setting the plates down, when you suddenly collapsed. Xiaojun was the first to react, quickly picking you up in his arms. You had suddenly become so pale, and he recognized the symptoms immediately. The others began to crowd around, asking what happened.

“Y/n, come on, open your eyes, you’re just fine.”

“Hm…”

“What happened?” Lucas asked. “Is she sick?”

“Not exactly.” Xiaojun mentioned. “Y/n, we’re okay.”

“Xiaojun…” You groaned. “I don’t… I don’t think…”

“Sh, it’s okay, just stay with me.”

“I…”

You drifted off with your words, and then stopped breathing. The room erupted into panic. Hendery was already dialing emergency services, but Lucas stopped him. Ten had pushed Xiaojun away and laid you on the floor, giving you mouth to mouth and then chest compressions. To everyone’s relief you took in a breath, and the panic could subside.

“What the hell just happened!” Sicheng yelled. “She just stopped breathing!”

“It’s Xiaojun’s fault!” YangYang exclaimed. “Tën told us that y/n was dying with you!”

“But we’re not in the frame!” Xiaojun countered. “She’s not dying in real life!”

“She just did!”

“She’s alive!”

“Enough!” Kun screamed. “That’s it.”

“What?”

“We can’t keep doing this.”

“What are you talking about?” Hendery questioned. 

“This. We can’t just manage and play around with her anymore.”

“Huh?”

“She doesn’t remember what happened in the frame but we still put her in that mindset.” Ten began. “She has like… seven different mindsets she can slip into. And we’re constantly pulling her into one after the other. Of course something like this would happen.”

“We’re doing just fine.” Lucas said. “We just-”

“No.” Kun stated. “She just… died… we can’t keep doing this to her. She’ll break.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Sicheng asked. “The damage is done…”

“And we’re just making it worse…”

“We need a break.” Xiaojun said. “She needs a break… from us…”

“We can’t leave her alone though!” YangYang countered. “Who knows what could happen.”

“And she won’t be. Ten can take her.”

“What?”

“Out of all of us, he hasn’t really messed with her head… she should be safe… and in a better headspace…”

“I-”

“He’s right.” Kun said. “She needs space from us, and we need space from her. Ten, do you think you can look after her yourself?”

“Yeah. With no one pulling her into a different mindset, she should be okay, and stable. But I can’t just look after her forever, she’s gonna get upset.”

“I can just make her think it’s normal.” Lucas volunteered.

“But that’s just a temporary solution.” Ten countered. “What are we going to do?”

“I need to think.” Kun admitted. “She needs to be safe from us, and our influence first. I’ll figure something out.”

“Alright. I’ll pack some of her things, and mine.”

“Don’t tell us where you’re going.”

“Okay.”

Ten picked you up in his arms, seeing a few tears on your face. The others stayed where they were, guilt eating them up, and some fear still lingered. You woke up in Ten’s bed, seeing him packing his things. The boy called for Lucas, and then you remembered the little trip you and Ten were taking. After packing your things you said bye to the others, promising to send them pictures and text them about the trip.

“I’ll tell you when I come up with a solution.” Kun told Ten. “So just, keep her safe till then.”

“I will.”

♥♥♥♥♥

With you and Ten gone, the rest gathered at the table, no one having any appetite. It was quiet, no one knowing what to say, or what needed to be said.

“First off…” Kun began. “I need to know.”

“Know what?” Xiaojun questioned quietly.

“We all should know actually… what we did to her… Ten’s been holding all our secrets this whole time, it’s only fair we share that burden…”

“But Tën…” Sicheng mumbled. “He told us…”

“It was vague… I’ll go first then…” Kun took a breath. “I wanted her to care about me… I made her care about me… and I was a special patient in this asylum… I was dangerous… I was deadly… she had vague information on me… but she showed me she cared… and I wanted to have her completely to myself… I was forcing her to escape with me… she was scared… especially when she saw my power… but she was still trying to do her job… I’m not sure what I would have done if I got out with her…”

A silence fell in the room. It stung to say all that out loud, but at the same time it was good. It felt like he could be held accountable for what he had done, at least a bit.

“I was being tortured.” Hendery began. “And so was she… they wanted to break me… by breaking her… I don’t know who they… are… and I’m not sure what my end goal was… she wasn’t with me… except for these weird dream states… she’s scared… and doesn’t want me to leave her… I’m supposed to save her… but I haven’t…”

“She was trying to save me.” Lucas said. “I was… some experiment… I had wings… I was captured and they were cut off… she cared for me… and tried to help me escape… but she got hurt, and I killed everyone… I wanted to keep her safe… from everything… so I kept her isolated, and manipulated her into thinking that she needed me… and only me…”

“I don’t know where I was.” Xiaojun admitted. “We were being held somewhere… and she was sick… I’m not really sure why… but she was getting helped… I wanted to be her savior… and I was trying to escape with her… she was very weak… we only had each other… and she desperately needed me…”

“We were in an asylum.” YangYang said. “She was nice to me… so I escaped with her… I took her against her will… and drugged her with… I’m not even sure… but I kept her happy… she needed help for something, but I wanted to be her everything… I kept her in a hideout… and she doesn’t even want to leave… too scared of the world without me…”

No one was really too happy to share, but in the end all eyes fell on Sicheng. They all had a vague idea of what he had done, and from what they had been told from before, it didn’t sound good. Sicheng looked at all of them, and sighed, guilt already present.

“I was locked up… I was dangerous… and she was scared… but she had a job to do… I needed to take some mind numbing medication… and she would make sure I took it… until one day… I forced her to take them… I was… powerful… and so were the drugs… so they had a much greater effect on her… she was practically brainless… and would obey me… and I was going to escape with her… I’m scared to know what would happen if we did…”

“No wonder he heads a mess.” Xiaojun commented. “Glad to know we’re all fucked up.”

“And now she is too.” Hendery mumbled. “How are we supposed to fix her?”

“I’m not sure.” Kun admitted. “But she should be okay for the time being. No one is allowed to be near her until we can fix this, got it?”

“Yeah.”

“Understood.”

“Crystal clear.”

“Sure.”

“Ok.”

“Good. Let’s just all take a break.”

♥♥♥♥♥

You found a hotel to stay in. It had a nice view, and you two ordered room service for dinner. The two of you began to make a list of things to do in the morning to make the most of this trip.

“I should text the others, tell them we’re okay.”

“Later. We just got here.” 

“True. It’s still early, we could watch a movie.”

“Good idea, pick one. I’ll get snacks.”

You settled on the bed and began sifting through the movie options. Ten was in the kitchen, popping some popcorn, and getting some soda. He poured the drinks into glasses, and then glanced over to make sure you were in bed. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small case, revealing pills inside. He put a blue one in each glass, and then an orange one, waiting for them to mix with the drink. He put everything on a tray and headed to the bedroom. You immediately grabbed a handful of popcorn, smiling at Ten.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“I bet I could finish my soda first.”

“Is that a challenge? It’s a pretty weird one.”

“Not when you consider the cold and carbonation.”

“True… alright, what do I get if I win?”

“Anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“Promise.”

“You’re on.”

You both grabbed a glass of soda, locking eyes. Ten did a small count down and then you were chugging the soda. When you finished you smiled, realizing Ten had put his glass down, leaving it completely untouched. Before you could question him you felt woozy. You swayed a bit and Ten took the glass from you, laying you down in bed. He watched you drift off, a pleased glint in his eyes. He kissed your lips and grabbed the other glass.

“My turn.”


	19. Consequences

“Run.”

That’s all you could do, run down the halls, Ten’s laughter ringing in your ears and bouncing off the walls. Terrified didn’t even begin to describe how you felt at the moment. You didn’t even know where you were, or how you got there, or what the hell was going on. All you knew was that you had to run, maybe you’d find a way out, but this wasn’t your first time trying to escape. When you rounded a corner you bumped into Ten, stumbling to the floor with a scream. You crawled back, but you knew you wouldn’t get away.

“There’s my girl, where are you running off to now?”

“Ten… please…”

“Sh, you must be exhausted.”

Ten grabbed your arm and pulled you up to your feet, dragging you down the hall you came from. Everything looked the same to you, but he walked with confidence. You knew where he was taking you, and it’s why you always struggled. He threw you into a cell, and as soon as you got your footing the glass was between you.

“Ten! What is going on! Please! What are you doing?”

“Nothing bad I promise. You just wind up here naturally, it’s okay though, just relax, everything’s going to be just fine.”

Gas started filling the cell. You screamed at Ten to let you out, but he just watched you with a smile. You grew weak, putting up a fight till the end, and then slowly sliding to the floor as you drifted into darkness.

♥♥♥♥♥

You took a breath in, exhaling as you snuggled against the sheets. They were soft, and you could feel warm sunlight on your face. When you rolled over you noticed the other side of the bed was empty, and cold. You opened your eyes, seeing that the room was empty, no sign of Ten anywhere.

“Ten?” You sat up. “Ten?”

You got out of bed, the chain on your leg dragging behind you. As you reached for the door it went taut, and you stood in place. You hated being alone, and you could feel the panic rising. Tears stung your eyes, and you curled up on the floor. You didn’t know what to do, or where he was.

“Ten!”

When the door opened you jumped to your feet, pulling on the chain, and falling back. Your ankle was pretty swollen from all the previous times you had the chain go taut, but you didn’t care for the pain. Ten kneeled down and pet your head.

“Sorry baby, I didn’t think you’d be awake yet.”

“Where did you go?”

“I was just away for a moment, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay…”

Ten got you to your feet and sat you down in bed. You watched him with a smile, grabbing his arms. He looked you over, his eyes focusing on your leg, specifically your swollen ankle. He scoffed and his gaze met yours.

“Has someone been trying to escape?”

“Huh?” You looked down at your leg. “No! No, I wouldn’t do that!”

“Then why is your ankle all swollen? And why only that one?”

“I didn’t try to escape.” You hugged Ten. “I didn’t!”

Ten chuckled to himself, grabbing your arms and pushing you away from him. He pinned you beneath him, looking into your eyes and seeing the mix of fear and excitement in them.

“You’re being a very bad girl right now.”

“Am I?”

“What to do about that?”

Ten kissed you hard, his lips then trailing down, his hands yanking up your skirt. You squirmed a bit out of instinct, given that his touch could be so rough. Although you started to feel dizzy, your hands reached to grab Ten, murmuring a plea for him to stop, but it fell on deaf ears. Before you knew it you slipped into black. It took a moment for Ten to notice you had passed out, and groaned in frustration.

“Fuck…” He gently caressed your cheek. “I suppose it is time to go back, we’ve been dancing for too long now.”

♥♥♥♥♥

You woke with a headache, feeling unbelievably annoyed. You looked around the hotel room and sat up. You thought you were hungover but there was no sight of alcohol, you even smelled your clothes and breath. You were about to get up when Ten came into the room.

“Hey, you’re up.”

“What happened?”

“My fault, I brought alcohol last night and… yeah…”

“Then why am I the only one hungover?”

“I could not keep up with you. Here, I made you breakfast, and I got you a hangover cure, but eat first.”

“Thanks.”

Ten sat with you and watched TV while you had breakfast, slowly recovering from your headache. You never really drank that much, so it was probably easy for you to get wasted. 

“Have the others called?”

“Why would they? We left yesterday.”

“Did we? It feels like we’ve been gone longer…”

“That’s probably the hangover talking.”

“Hm, maybe. I should send them a message.”

“Sure, but when you feel better. Here, your hangover cure.”

“Thanks.”

After the drink Ten tucked you back into bed. You snuggled against the sheets and drifted off back to sleep. Ten pet your head, watching you drift off. He was rather fortunate that every time you came to reality the same scenario played out, so it was easy to get you back under. He watched you sleep for a while before getting into bed with you.

♥♥♥♥♥

“I can’t do this anymore.”

Hendery jumped off the couch, pacing around the room. Kun had basically locked himself in his room while he tried to come up with a solution, which was the same day you left, and now marked a week with your absence in the dorm. They were all going a bit crazy, and Kun had forbidden them all from making contact with you or Ten until he said so. At this point though, Hendery was at his breaking point. He knew it was dangerous to have you near them, but he just had to see you, to know you were alright.

“Kun!” Hendery knocked at his door. “Open up! We need to talk! Now!”

“What are you doing?” YangYang asked. “It’s too early for this.”

“Look, I can’t take it anymore, I’m going crazy worrying about y/n, who’s great idea was it to send her away?!”

“You know we had to. We were all getting carried away.”

“Can you guys be quiet?” Kun opened the door. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Sleep?” YangYang questioned. “At a time like this!”

“I need rest.”

“But-”

“I just wanted a little nap before…”

“Before what?”

“You have a plan.” Hendery said. “Don’t you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t like it, and you won’t either.”

“What is it?”

“We need to go back… with her…”

“What?”

“I know, I know. I need to do somethings in the Frame first so we-”

“Then go do it now.”

Both Hendery and YangYang shoved Kun back into his room and onto his bed. The oldest was confused by their actions, given the lack of complaining in regards to what was just said, and the fact he hasn’t said much else.

“Hold on, I need to rest before I go back in there.”

“Why? The sooner we do this, the sooner y/n comes home right?” Hendery stated. “So where are the pills?”

“In my dresser drawer. Top one on the left.”

“Okay.”

YangYang went over to the drawer and started rummaging around, but he couldn’t find anything. He knew what the container looked like, so he knew he wasn’t just missing it. He started looking in the other drawers but that’s when Kun came over.

“It’s not here…”

“What do you mean it’s not here?” YangYang questioned. “You’re supposed to have them.”

“I swear I left them here. Where could they… oh no…”

“What?”

“Call Ten.”

“Huh?”

“Now!”

Hendery took out his phone and dialed Ten’s number. He was immediately sent to voicemail. He tried again but the response was the same. Then he tried your phone, but he got nothing.

“He’s not picking up. Neither is she. Why-”

“Sicheng!”

Kun ran out of the room, going over to Sicheng’s room. The boy was laid out in bed asleep, but was quickly disturbed from his slumber.

“What…”

“I need you to track Ten’s phone, now.”

“Huh? Why? Aren’t they-”

“The pills are gone.”

“So…”

“He took them! He’s not answering, y/n’s not answering, I think he fucken took them and he’s been doing who knows what with her right now. We need to find him.”

“Shit.”

Sicheng got out of bed and onto his laptop, quickly beginning his search. Hendery left the room to inform the others, cause they had to be ready to go in a moments notice.

“Kun…”

“Hm?”

“She’s been with him for a week… is she…”

“She’s going to be okay.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“We’ll fix it.”

“Why did we ever let him go off with her in the first place!” Sicheng spat. “This is your fault!”

“He was the only one who never did anything to her! How was I supposed to know he’d take the fucken pills!”

“Never did anything to her my ass, he locked her up and started this whole mess!”

“So you didn’t fucken drug her stupid, huh? We’re all at fault, now find him!”

“At least now he can be more at fault.”

Once Sicheng had the location they all headed out. The hotel he had checked into wasn’t far, so it was a quick trip. They didn’t need to ask the attendant for directions as they knew exactly where they were going and weren’t going to be nice about the situation. Lucas banged his fist on the door, but when he got no response, Sicheng began to pick the lock. No one knew what to expect, but what they got was certainly something.

The whole place was trashed, as if a fight had ensued. The furniture was all over the place, and countless things were broken. The sight didn’t help ease anyone’s concerns. Then the sound of some glass breaking caught everyone’s attention. All eyes were suddenly on Ten who was curled up in a corner, shaking and injured, staring at them like a lost child. Lucas didn’t waste a moment to approach him and force him to his feet.

“What have you done!”

“I’m… I’m sorry… I didn’t… I tried… I couldn’t… stop myself… I’m sorry…”

Ten clearly wasn’t in a good state of mind, seeming to be afraid of everything, even himself. While looking around Kun found the pill container, seeing that it was nearly empty, but of course, there was another issue at hand.

“Where is she?” Xiaojun asked. “Where’s y/n?”

“I… I had to… to-”

“Where!”

Ten pointed to the door on the other side of the room, the one that was barricaded. It hadn’t registered to any of them until now, and they couldn’t help but look to Ten for an answer.

“I… I had to… to keep… away…”

“Ten is she even alive in there!”

Lucas dropped him and started moving things out of the way, Hendery and Sicheng helping. When they could finally get to the door Kun pushed his way in first. You were laying in bed, seeming to be asleep, but upon closer inspection they could see your glassy eyes staring off into space. Hendery rushed over to check your pulse, you were alive, but you weren’t there.

“Don’t touch her!”

Ten had come out of nowhere, his previous demeanor gone and replaced by anger. Lucas and Sicheng were quick to grab him and hold him back, ultimately dragging him out of the room.

“We need to go.” Kun said. “We need to get out of here, now.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Everyone wanted you back home, but not like this. Ten was locked up in his room, everyone taking turns to keep watch on him, and also to check in on you. Kun had you hooked to an IV, since you were unresponsive. No one knew what to expect, or what to hope for, and the guilt and fears only got worse as the days passed. 

“I hope you can hear me.”

Xiaojun was cleaning you up, everyone taking turns in caring for you. They didn’t talk about it themselves, but they’d all talk to you. There was the hope you could hear them and would wake up.

“We miss you, and we’re sorry. We’ll fix this okay… just come back… please…”

Ten wasn’t in his right mind either, so he needed time to come to his senses in order to tell the others what happened. They were all scared to know the truth, but they had to. Ten would go back and forth between screaming at them and crying while apologizing for what he had done. A few days passed before he settled down.

“We need to talk…”

Ten couldn’t really look anyone in the eye. He fumbled around with his hands, trying not to break down sobbing.

“Ten…” Kun began. “What happened? How long has she been like that?”

“I…”

“Ten!”

“I couldn’t help myself! Everything was fine and then next thing I knew I had the pills in my hand. I don’t know when I got them or how… but I just had them… and… I couldn’t stop myself… once we were in there… he… he was the one in control… I couldn’t…”

“How long were you in there?”

“As long as I could… she was awake for a few hours at a time… so she could eat but…”

“What did you do?”

“I…”

“Ten.”

“I had her locked up… she had nothing but me…”

“Is she… is she stuck in there?” Xiaojun asked. “We’ve never been under for so long…”

“She’s not… trust me… we were both out but she… the guilt… I had to stop myself from hurting her again…”

“How long were you like that for?”

“A day maybe… I don’t know for sure… I just had to… keep myself from her…”

“A day?” Sicheng stated. “She’s been like that for almost a week now! What’s wrong with her? What did you do!”

“She must be stuck there.” Lucas said. “We have to get her.”

“She’s not there!” Hendery countered. “We can’t… she’s lost in her own mind, you think we can find her?”

“Then what do we do?”

“We have to wait.” Kun said. “She could come back on her own… her grasp on reality is lost, but she eventually woke up herself, right?”

“Yeah…” Ten mumbled. “She woke up all on her own… I don’t know if the drugs wore off or her subconscious would just know she’s been under too long… she got out but… she didn’t wake up… not like before… she’s not dead right…”

“She’s alive, just unresponsive. I don’t know if she’s getting better…”

“How long are we supposed to wait?” YangYang asked. “A week? A month? What if she doesn’t wake up?”

“She will…”

“Kun-”

“Ten…”

Everyone went quiet. They all thought they heard the same thing, but weren’t quite so sure. They listened intently, somewhat hoping it wasn’t a hallucination.

“Ten… Ten!”

It was clear that was your voice, and it sparked something in Ten. He jumped out of his seat,but Kun was quickly climbing over the table to stop him, tackling him to the ground.

“Someone go check on her.” Kun ordered. “Now!”

The others rushed over and burst into the room. You were on your feet, looking around, although you screamed when you saw them. They all jumped back, and ushered themselves out before something bad happened. They could hear you sobbing in the room, but they weren’t sure what the proper approach was. Down the hall they could also hear Ten and Kun tussling.

“She’s calling for me!”

“You put her in that mind set! She needs to get out of it! If she sees you it’ll make things worse.”

“She’s going to panic!”

“She needs to come back to reality!”

“Kun!”

“You’re not going near her!”

Ten wound up locked up in his room again. There was relief that you were awake, but the circumstances were complicated. Anyone who wasn’t Ten just scared you, and all you’d do is ask for him. There was nothing they could say, so they just left some food for you, and hoped you’d go back to normal. Ten argued to see you for a while, but eventually gave up, knowing it wasn’t in your best interest.

No one knew how or when you’d come back to them, so it was just a waiting game. They had to be prepared for anything really, but it wound up a lot calmer than they could have imagined. While going for a glass of water in the middle of the night, YangYang found you sitting by the window, looking up at the sky. Your presence startled him, but he recovered quickly and slowly approached.

“Hey… what are you doing here?”

“I… I don’t wanna be locked up in my room anymore.”

“You weren’t… I’ll get you a pillow and blankets okay.”

“Thanks.”

YangYang tucked you in on the couch. You were very quiet. He asked if you wanted him to stay but you refused, telling him you’d be fine. In the morning the others were each surprised to find you sleeping on the couch. They wanted to wake you, make sure you were alright, but held themselves back. Eventually YangYang woke up and eased their worries a bit. They let you rest, quietly making breakfast, and wondering what things would be like when you got up.

It wasn’t long before you shot up in a cold sweat. You were panting, taking a moment to orient yourself and remember where you were. You took a breath, rubbing the sleep from your eyes, and then noticing you had an audience. The boys were all in the kitchen, setting the table and cooking, but at the moment they were quiet and frozen, watching you. For a moment you just stared at each other, before you offered a small wave. They all immediately ran over to you and swarmed you with hugs.

“Y/n!”

“Are you okay?!”

“It’s so good to see you.”

“Guys.” You couldn’t help but laugh, feeling warm. “I’m fine, can I breathe!”

“Sorry.”

“You’re not hurt right?”

“I’m fine… so what’s for breakfast.”

It seemed like a miracle, that you were back to your old self. You weren’t weird around them, and you didn’t talk about what happened, as if you didn’t know. It seemed perfect, and because of that no one wanted to ask what you remembered. Still, it had to be done, and despite everyone’s protests, Kun sat down with you to talk.

“How have you been lately?”

“Me? Fine… as if you aren’t aware.”

“This is a weird question, but… before you woke up on the sofa that day, what do you remember?”

“I… things are kinda foggy… I was scared… like I was trapped in a nightmare… I don’t really know what happened… I feel… like I’ve been sick or something…”

“More or less, but you feel alright don’t you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

You didn’t want to admit the truth, you didn’t want to admit knowing. For a few days before leaving your room, everything just began to settle in your mind. What happened in the Frame, the mistakes you made, and what had been going on for the last few days. You wanted to pretend to be okay, not wanting to worry the boys. They were already suffering so much because of you. So you lied, you pretend to be okay, and it really was that way, it was just at night, in your dreams, in your nightmares, that the truth surfaced and became inescapable.

It was easy to hide, as you made it a point not to sleep or nap with any of them. Of course that was never gonna last. YangYang was having trouble sleeping one night, and decided that some company might help. He snuck out of his room and quietly made it to yours. He knocked and let himself in, approaching your bed. As he got closer your whimpers became more apparent, as well as your tossing about. He reached out to what you when you suddenly bolted up.

“Xiaojun, don’t!”

You let out a shaky breath, and then screamed when you noticed YangYang at the side of the bed. He quickly apologized for starling you, but you waved him off.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Just… are you okay?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“What were you dreaming about?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Xiaojun, now go away before I lose the dream.”

“Okay, sweet dreams.”

“Thanks.”

YangYang left without a word, keeping to himself the fact you were pale, a common trait you had with Xiaojun’s dream world. Early in the morning, before you were up, he told the others about what happened at night.

“So she’s been lying to us.” Hendery said. “She does remember…”

“As if we didn’t lie to her for her sake.” Xiaojun added. “She just doesn’t want to upset us.”

“We can’t leave it like this, can we?” Lucas asked.

“Of course not! What kinda question is that? She’ll get worse no doubt. How is she even functioning if she remembers everything we did?”

“Compartmentalizing.” Ten said. “We… I… did technically split her into seven… eight pieces, so… we separate our two selves, guess she figured out how to do that too.”

“But you eventually had trouble controlling yourself.” Sicheng reminded. “So this definitely won’t last for her.”

“You said we had to go back right.” YangYang added. “In order to fix this.”

“What?”

“Kun?”

“I… I know…”

“What do you mean go back?” Ten asked. “After the shitshow I caused? Are you crazy? What even is the plan!”

“To wake her up.”

“Huh?”

“She’s afraid, it has affects, because even if we were in the Frame, she knows it was real. It happened, we did this to her, but if we make her believe all of that was just a dream, then the memories will fade on their own. Of course she’ll always remember little pieces, but those bits won’t affect her they way they would now, and we wouldn’t have any influence on her.”

“Did I suggest that a long time ago?” YangYang questioned. “I’m pretty sure I did.”

“That was before things got so out of hand.”

“Alright.” Sicheng agreed. “Let’s say we do that, what about all the shit we did that happened in real life?”

“That’s based around what we did in the Frame being real, if it’s not real anymore, those memories will also fade.”

“How can you be so sure it will work?”

“I’m not, but if we do this… all we have to do is run the scenario in the Frame, and see how she responds…”

“So use the Frame the way we’re supposed to, got it.”

“I don’t have any better ideas, so if anyone does, please, speak up.” It was quiet. “Now the question is getting her under.”

“It’s supposed to be a dream.” YangYang said. “So why not hang out, and slip it to her, so she falls asleep while we’re watching a movie or something. It would make everything feel more natural, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s a pretty good idea.”

“So movie night it is.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Any chance you got to just hang out with the boys was the best. It had been so long since you all gathered for a movie night, so you were excited. You snuggled between Sicheng and Kun on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in your lap. Hendery had picked the movie for the night, and Lucas had gotten the drinks. You were enjoying yourself, leaning against Sicheng, that is until you reached for your glass of pop. An all too familiar taste hit your tongue, and you quickly spit it out. Everyone was caught off guard by your actions, furthermore when you jumped off the couch and stepped away.

“Y/n? What-”

“I’ll behave.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll be good… I’ll do whatever just… please…”

“Y/n…”

“I don’t wanna go back there. Please.”

“Just let us-”

“No!”

Everyone had gotten up, your words cutting deep into each one, and they really didn’t want to do things by force. It’s been a while since they had all seen you so scared, and they hope they wouldn’t have to again.

“Y/n…” Lucas began. “Just-”

“No!” You ran to the kitchen and started throwing things at Lucas. “You shut your mouth! I don’t want to hear anything from you!”

“Okay, okay.”

“Y/n, let’s talk about this.” Ten said, approaching. “We’re just trying-”

“No! No! I am not going back there!”

“Please just listen to us.”

“I said no!”

The boys were slowly surrounding you, glad you were at least nice enough not to grab any sharp objects. Although Sicheng remained on the couch, contemplating what he should do. He never liked what he did to you, let alone the effect it left. At the moment, it seemed he didn’t have a choice, and for once, he could do something good. The worst part was getting it right, before you realized he also had power over you. He took a breath and stood.

“Quiet!”

Everyone froze, startled by the suddenly yelling. Sicheng ignored all the looks, a regretful look on his face. He walked towards you, quiet and still, the spark gone out in your eyes. He hugged you tightly, whispering an apology. He fixed up your hair a bit and kissed your head, taking your hand and bringing you back over to the couch. The others followed.

“We’re doing this right?” Sicheng asked. “No backing out now.”

“Yup.”

“Shit’s not gonna go wrong, right?”

“No.” Kun assured. “I’ve made preparations for this.”

“Okay.”

Sicheng had you properly finish your drink, gently laying you down on the couch. They waited for you to go under before they followed suit, downing in their own drinks and getting comfortable. Hopefully when this was over things would be better.

♥♥♥♥♥

Instead of the usual place, they each found themselves waking up in the prison. As they got up, the first thing they were met with was their curious doubles looking down on them. It was definitely not an enjoyable sight, but at least they were in their cells where they belong.

“Where’s y/n?” Hendery asked. “I don’t see her.”

“There.” Kun pointed to the end of the hall. “She’s fine.”

A new cell had been added to the prison, one for you. At the moment you were unconscious, laying on a blanket. No one could unlock the door, nor would it do anything, you wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

“Why is she asleep?” Xiaojun questioned. “Shouldn’t she be here with us?”

“No, it’s better this way, easier to get into her head if she’s already in level one.”

“Is she just in limbo then?” Lucas asked. “Or what?”

“Something like that, she’s fine. So don’t worry.”

“So you built her a cell.” Sicheng scoffed. “That’s nice.”

“I never thought I had to.”

“I told you to build it away from us.” Kůn commented. “But guess that was too much. It’s nice though, to have her so close.”

“Shut it.”

“Make me.”

“Let’s not fight.” Tën chuckled. “No one wants to be here, let alone her, but she’s not conscious to protest.”

“Ignore them.” Kun stated. “We’re here to fix things.”

“So what’s the plan?” YangYang asked. “How do we do this?”

“We can do anything, so all we have to do is go into those… scenarios, and create an exit. From there we bring her into a false reality where she wakes up. Let her settle and take everything in, realize she just had a weird dream, and put her back to sleep. Then we meet back here. Got it?”

“That’s a lot easier than I thought, but what about…” Ten looked at the cells. “Them?”

“They’re locked up here, and they won’t follow us, so it’ll be okay.”

“So how do we… go?”

“You know where you took her, so just go back.”

Kun sat down and closed his eyes. The others followed suit, sparing one last glance at you. Guilt still gnawed at them all, but this was finally their chance to fix it.

♥♥♥♥♥

“YangYang…”

It took a second for YangYang to stabilize in his own little world. He wasn’t in the room of colors, but a much darker place, and alarms were going off. After a moment he realized he was in the asylum. You were unconscious on the floor, YangYang noticing his hands covered in colorful powder. This was the moment when he snuck you out of the asylum, he even knew where to go in order to do that, but he didn’t.

If he escaped, waking you up would be more complicated. He needed to hide with you, and wake you up. There was a lock down going on, so if you both could escape together, he could use that to end this nightmare. He picked you up in his arms, trying to think of a place to hide. This was his world, his asylum, so he could just make a place to hide and create an exit. He was careful to avoid security, but that wasn’t good enough.

“Freeze!”

YangYang looked back just as a tranq dart hit his neck. He slipped to the ground, careful not to just drop you. He pulled the dart out of his neck, confused by it since he knew this asylum didn’t have anything like this. As his vision began to fade he looked around for the attacker. His eyes eventually landed on the security guard approaching, the one who picked you up.

“You’re gonna wind up in solitary confinement for that one.”

YangYang’s eyes went wide as he saw Tën carrying you in his arms. He couldn’t understand why he was there, or how. Tën smirked, checking up on you, and then walking away. YangYang tried to stand, to speak, but the sedative was pulling him under, and eventually he collapsed into darkness.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Hendery… Hendery?”

Your voice echoed in Hendery’s mind as he opened in his eyes, finding himself in the all too familiar interrogation room. He took a moment to compose himself, thinking about his options. If he went into the dream, he could see you, but there was no escape from there, he needed to find you here, in the first level. He stood up, and started walking around, there had to be some sort of exit.

The place was pitch black, but he kept walking until he found a wall. He followed it and found what he was looking for, a door. It was unlocked and he didn’t hesitate to walk through it. Now he found himself in a white hallway, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light. It seemed endless both ways, and the other doors around weren’t labelled. He didn’t even know where to begin in order to find you. He didn’t get the chance though, as he turned his head and came face to face with Tën.

“What are you doing out here?”

Tën shoved Hendery back into the room he came from. Hendery was too shocked to do anything, trying to figure out how Tën was even there to begin with. He was forced back into his seat, Tën pinning his head against the table, revealing a needle.

“We had a deal. You play your game, and I play mine. Everyone wins in the end, so play by the rules.”

Hendery tried to struggle, but the needle pierced his skin either way. By the time Tën let go of him, he had no strength to move. He could just watch as Tën walked away and disappeared into darkness, just like he did a moment later. 

♥♥♥♥♥

“Xiaojun…”

You met Xiaojun’s gaze with a smile, sitting down and presenting him with his lunch bag. He forced a smile and took it. These little lunch dates were common, and he always shared with you. At the moment he couldn’t remember why you were sick, but it didn’t matter, none of this was real. He took the time you two had now to figure out how to end this, and he had to remind himself that he was in control.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s just go.”

“Where? There’s nowhere to go. Are you okay?” You leaned over and pressed your hand to his forehead. “You feel hot.”

“I’m always hot down here.”

“True.”

“I’m serious, let’s just go. No one can stop us.”

“You’ll get in trouble.”

“We’ll be fine. Come on.”

Xiaojun took your hand and got up, reaching for the door you had come in from. You tried to stop him, but he was much stronger than you. When he went through the door, he found he was still underground, the walls solid concrete, but more sophisticated than the room he had come from.

“Xiaojun what are you doing.”

“Which way did you come from?”

“Xiaojun.”

“What is this?”

The both of you looked to see someone approaching. It was clearly an authority figure, and you quickly bowed your head. Xiaojun on the other hand stared, perplexed by the situation before him. He couldn’t understand how Tën was there.

“You should be working.”

“Sorry.” You apologized. “He just-”

You started coughing and fell to your knees, a lot paler than before. Xiaojun attempted to help but Tën shoved him back.

“I’ll deal with her, you, get back to your place.”

“She-”

Xiaojun was shoved back into the room he came from, his head slamming against the metal floor. His head was spinning and he tried to get up, but all he could do was watch as Tën dragged you away. He called your name, but a puff of steam cut him off, and he passed out.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Lucas…”

You were trying to get a response from the boy, but you could understand his devastation, after all, his feathers lay scattered around him. Lucas watched you gather up his feathers, his memories of this world slowly coming to the front of his mind. The door to his cell was open, and there weren’t many other people. He knew you had feelings for him, so trying to escape wouldn’t be out of the question.

Lucas grabbed your arm and pulled you close, pressing his lips to yours. When he pulled away you stared at him, blushing from his sudden move. He smirked and got up, walking out of the cell with you in hand. The others noticed, but weren’t sure of what to do. Lucas was in control, so despite his wings being cut, he sprouted new ones. Your eyes went wide in shock, and he pulled you close.

He figured simply escaping would be a good way to wake you up, but he was wrong. He only got a few feet off the ground before he was shot down. When he looked down he could see some security guards, one aiming a rifle at him. He wasn’t going anywhere, and he made sure to protect you in the crash. His wings were broken, but you suffered mild injuries, which mattered most. Before he could ask if you were alright, you were taken from his grasp. He was grabbed as well and forced on his knees. When he looked up he saw Tën holding you, aiming a gun at your head. You were shaking, quietly sobbing.

“I see you’ve taken an interest in one of our scientists.” Tën ran the gun down your cheek. “That’s good to know.”

While Lucas was held down, other guards began to chop at his wings. The pain was surreal, and without any anesthetics he knew he wouldn’t be awake for long. He had nothing as he was dragged back to his cell, vaguely being able to see you. He made things worse, but his mind was more focused on Tën, trying to think of how he could have been there. He wasn’t supposed to be able to follow them, none of them were, and yet here he was. That was the last thing on his mind before everything faded to black.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Sicheng… it’s time for your meds.”

The world was still forming in Sicheng’s head when you came in. It wasn’t unusual for him to be quiet, so you paid it no attention. Sicheng took notice of the change, and the rather excessive amount. He knew he needed to get you out, but for the time being he was more concerned with his own escape. He began pulling on the chains, knowing he could get out of them, this was his world after all.

“I’ve been told you can’t break them.” You held up the pills to Sicheng. “So there’s no point trying.”

“You’d like to think that.”

Sicheng hit your hand away, causing you to drop the pills, and returned his attention to breaking the chains. You sighed, grabbing some other pills.

“You need to take your medication.”

“…”

“Sicheng.”

“Hold on.”

“I told you-”

The door suddenly opened, to both your surprise. Sicheng stopped as he saw this doctor walk in, one he had never seen before, Tën.

“It’s alright y/n, you can go. I’ll deal with this personally.”

“Sorry… he-”

“Go.”

“Yes, sir.”

You bowed and left the room. Sicheng watched you go before his gaze focused on Tën, glaring at him.

“What are you doing here?”

“What I always do, handle your care. You know y/n tries very hard with you, but I guess you can be incredibly stubborn at times, so we’ll do this the hard way.”

Tën grabbed some pills from the tray, as well as the ones on the floor. He grabbed Sicheng’s face, the boy a bit off guard by the sudden appearance of another familiar face. Tën forced his mouth open and then covered his mouth, making sure he couldn’t spit them out. Then, to make sure he swallowed them, pinched nose.

“Be a good boy and take your medication, so we can get started.”

Sicheng held out for as long as he could, but he needed to breathe, and swallowed. He took in a deep breath, and Tën let him go. He tried to lunge at the other, but he was out of his reach and the chains held him back. It wasn’t long before he felt woozy, sinking into his chair. Tën started talking but his vision was fading to black and he couldn’t do anything else before darkness overtook him.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Kun?”

A bit of pain registered with Kun as he took in his surroundings. Broken glass decorated the floor of his cell, and he could see that you were present. He stood up, unsure how to proceed.

“Kun… what did you do?”

“It was an accident…”

“An accident?”

He didn’t want to scare you, didn’t want to make this a bad dream. All he needed you to do was leave the room, and from there he could wake you up, but he couldn’t go with you.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay.” You took a step towards him. “I’m glad you’re being honest with me.”

“I won’t go anywhere… I won’t hurt anyone.”

“That’s good.”

“You can go.”

“I can’t just leave you alone.”

“I’ll be alright.”

“I trust that, but not everyone does.”

“Huh.”

You had gotten close enough that you jabbed a needle into his next, giving him a sedative. His eyes went wide, grabbing your arm. You were scared but maintained your composure, Kun’s hand slipping away.

“Sorry… it’s just protocol… for your safety…”

“Y/n…”

Kun collapsed to the floor, the edges of his vision going black. The door behind you opened up, another doctor walking in, one with a familiar face, Tën. 

“You did good.”

“He’ll be alright… will he?”

“Yes. We just need to move him, and you. So come with me.”

“Of course.”

“Y/n…” Kun held a hand out to you. “Y/n…” 

“You’ll be okay. I’ll see you when you wake up.”

Kun let out a gurgled whimper, the sedative taking him under. This was not how things were supposed to go, and he couldn’t understand how it went wrong.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Ten! Ten, let me out!”

Your voice echoed in the hall, Ten just a few feet away from you. His back was to you, and in the moment he didn’t know what to do. Somehow he had to wake you up, but he needed a second to think. Your screams were not helping, but eventually they faded.

“Why would you let her out? Don’t you want your turn?”

An all too familiar voice was suddenly filling Ten’s ears. He tried to ignore it, but there was no drowning it out.

“Just knock her out, and let’s go. You already know what’s waiting.”

“Shut up!”

“Ten…”

“No, no not you.” Ten turned around and walked up to your cell, pulling out the access card. “I’ll get you-”

“Just enter the code, you know what it is, and then she’s all yours.”

“…”

“We can do anything, remember?”

“Ten… let me out… please…”

“You know what to do.”

Ten lowered the access card, entering the code to release the gas into your cell. You freaked out, screaming for Ten to let you out, but he just watched as you knocked out. He took a breath and closed his eyes.

“Let’s play.” 

When Ten opened his eyes he saw you laying in bed, sound asleep. It was the same plain room as before, and he could see the chain around your ankle. Even though he brought you here, he was starting to regret it. He couldn’t do this, he wouldn’t allow it. He rummaged around his pockets till he found the key, wanting to get the chain off. His actions woke you, and you were quick to stop him.

“No, no don’t!”

“Y/n-”

“I’ll be good, I promise I’ll be good. I’m so sorry for upsetting you.”

“I am taking this chain off.”

“No!”

You were sobbing but Ten ignored it, knowing you weren’t in your right mind. As he was fumbling with the lock he realized why you were scared and begging. Whenever you misbehaved previously he would take the chain off and put you in a cage, so in your mind he wasn’t freeing you but punishing you. He stopped and backed away, not listening to you spouting out your gratitude.

“She’s been bad hasn’t she?”

“No… no shut up!”

Ten ran out of the room, finding himself back in the prison room, but he wasn’t alone. The others were all waking up too, a bit disoriented. He quickly ran over to your cell, but you were just as you were before, peacefully asleep. He couldn’t even feel a sense of relief before Lucas grabbed him and flipped him over, pinning him against the glass.

“What the hell!”

“Huh? What did I do?”

“You were there!”

“Where?”

“In my… my… what do we even call it? World? Dream? Doesn’t matter, you were there!”

“Me? How?”

“I don’t know! You-”

Lůcas’ chuckling brought silence. “Did you think it would be that easy?”

“Huh?”

“Thought you could just go in and save her?”

“It’s pathetic really.” Hëndëry added. “Pretending to be us.”

“I know right.” Xiaøjun scoffed. “More annoying than anything.”

“Tën showed up for me as well.” Sicheng added. “How is that possible? You said they couldn’t follow us.”

Kun was quietly thinking about the situation, slowly getting confirmation from the others that things had changed, and Tën made a cameo for all of them, except Ten of course, his situation was different. Kun didn’t have an answer, but he knew who did. He went up to Tën’s cell, the boy sitting down, a lovely smirk on his face.

“How are you here, and there?”

“In where?” Tën giggled. “You have to be more specific.”

“How did you show up in our dreams!”

“They’re not your dreams.” YāngYāng spat. “They’re ours!”

“Did you really think you could just go into our little worlds and pretend to be us?” Sɨcheng added. “We created them, shaped y/n to fit our needs, of course she’d know if something was off with us.”

“The version of me you saw was just a little contingency I planted in everyone’s worlds, with their approval of course.” Tën explained. “Just in case someone else was trying to mess with it.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Xiaojun said. “Seriously.”

“What can I say, we’re very protective of our things.”

“What do we do now?” YangYang asked. “Kun?”

“We have to play along…”

“Huh?”

“We need… to be them… and find some way to wake her up that fits the world they created.”

“No way.” Ten protested. “I am not going to pretend to be him! You can’t trust me to do that!”

“Me neither.” Sicheng added. “I don’t trust myself.”

“Then we don’t go alone.” Hendery said. “Is it possible for us to go one at a time? Have the others with us… like voices in our head or something?”

“Um… maybe. It could work.” Kun thought. “We could keep each other on task, but… we’ll see everything…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Xiaojun stated. “This is about helping y/n, and we have to, no matter what.”

“Then do we all agree?” Lucas asked. “To do it this way…”

“I’ll go first.” YangYang volunteered. “For y/n…”

Everyone’s eyes were on you for a moment. They didn’t want things to go down this way, but it really seemed like the choice was out of their hand.

“YangYang, you go in first.” Kun said. “And I’ll bring in the others with me.”

“Okay… I’m sorry in advance for what you’re about to see…”

“We’re no better.” Ten stated. “Trust me.”


End file.
